community led housing london

Britannia Village Hall

The Britannia Village Hall site is an ageing but popular community centre, nursery, playground and car park managed by the West Silvertown Foundation, a local charity which operates in the Royal Docks.

They are looking into redeveloping the site to provide new facilities for community activities as well as up to 30 homes. This will not only allow local residents to benefit from the provision of updated services but will also help meet the high demand for housing locally.

How we’re helping:
We helped WSF consider viability and development options and an early stage and have supported detailed feasibility and work to ensure they have a developable lease. We have also helped in looking at the options to progress the scheme to planning, and exploring potential partnerships.

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Beam River CLT

Based in East London, Beam River CLT is aiming to empower disadvantaged members of the African community through the provision of affordable housing.

They are also motivated by the negative impacts of loneliness and isolation and are looking to create a supportive community, which will combat the challenge of social care for the elderly.

How we helped
We supported Beam River CLT to focus their strategic thinking and helped them incorporate.

 Visit their website

London Filipino Cohousing

A Filipino Community group aiming to build a mixed tenure, intergenerational cohousing community.

The London Filipino Co-Housing Project was initiated in early 2019 by four households from the Filipino community in London.

The project, which is supported by Bahay-Kubo Housing Association and Kanlungan Filipino Consortium, is keen to address the issue of housing affordability which often faces low paid Filipino migrant workers working in the public sector, particularly those employed in health and social care.

How we’re helping:

We have helped to identify a site and have committed a small amount of funding for an initial feasibility study and will be supporting wider business planning.

Brockley Tenants Co-operative

An established housing co-operative seeking to expand and adapt to the changing needs of their residents.

Brockley Tenants’ Co-operative has been in existence for forty years as a Registered Provider and owns 90 units across Lewisham.

Having paid off most of their mortgages, they are now looking to expand their housing stock to provide more social housing for those in need. This expansion will also allow them to adapt to the changing needs of their elderly residents, some of whom are no longer suited to their existing housing stock.

How we’re helping:

We are supporting Brockley Tenants with long term business planning to establish what they can do without putting existing homes at risk.

 
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Photograph by Peter Brooker

Bonny Downs Cohousing

A local charity founded by a Baptist church seeking to redevelop their church hall to provide a bespoke space for community activities and affordable housing for those in need.

Bonny Downs Church owns a small, old church hall building which is used for their weekly foodbank, community meal, winter night shelter, and skills courses.

Working in collaboration with the New Way project, their vision is to build an ‘urban abbey’ that will be an intentional community bringing together people from different backgrounds who are committed to sharing life with and supporting one another, united by a common goal of tackling poverty. The ground floor will have community space and a chapel, with housing above. Four to six studio homes will welcome vulnerable single people, who have experienced homelessness, who will stay for an agreed period of supported tenancy, alongside two flats for community workers. A shared kitchen and lounge will facilitate communal living, where residents will regularly prepare and eat meals together. Everyone will help maintain the house and garden together. Residents will also be invited to volunteer at the daytime services for homeless people based on the ground floor. Acting as a therapeutic community, it will be a place to rebuild lives and to foster purpose and belonging.

How we’re helping
We have helped them complete an initial feasibility study on the site, and have supported them to appoint Panter Hudspith as architects to take the project further. Our adviser Andy Redfearn has helped in preparing a planning application, and we have initiated discussions with potential lenders and partners.

Visit their website