The first residents have been moving into their new homes in Ladywell, after RUSS achieved ‘practical completion’ of the main construction works earlier in February.
This is a fantastic achievement for one of the most ambitious community led housing projects of recent years.
The scheme pushes innovation in environmental sustainability, a full range of affordable tenures, various typologies, and most importantly community collaboration and resident empowerment in their own homes.
We have been working with CDS Co-operatives who will be delivering housing management services for RUSS, and acting as the Registered Provider landlord of social rented and intermediate shared flats in the new scheme.
Our director, Levent Kerimol, was involved from very early on, helping Lewisham Council think through their approach to community led housing and self-build, getting approvals, and running the council’s procurement process for an affordable, community-led, self-build scheme on the Church Grove site.
There is still work to do before all residents move in. The community will be finishing the gardens and the interiors of their own flats. However this feels an important point to mark, from one phase to another as the resident community bed in and we start to see the tangible community as these homes mature.