resource and advice hub
First Brick Housing is a democratically-run, non-profit, member-owned organisation aiming to build housing and community spaces for LGBTQ+ people, creating environments where people can live safely, free from oppression and socialise in a place they can call their own.
We have provided initial advice on structuring the organisation.
They are currently seeking donations and volunteers to get the project off the ground.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich released the Felixstowe Road site in Abbey Wood specifically for Community Land Trusts.
Greenwich join a string of boroughs including Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Croydon, and Camden in creating opportunities for community led housing, with several others working on individual schemes.
Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Anthony Okereke said “this initiative is part of our pledge to use innovative approaches to develop affordable housing in perpetuity for the borough’s residents and create sustainable communities”.
Greenwich Citizens Housing and London CLT were successful in being selected with designs consisting of 12 homes, including 6 two-storey houses flanked by two three-storey blocks of flats. Every home has a front door onto a pedestrianised ‘play street’.
They also secured the Susan Road sites in Kidbrooke.
How we’re helping
We supported two groups in preparing proposals for the council, and are funding London CLT to progress a planning application with Archio.
London CLT are looking to provide 100% affordable housing for Southwark residents at Scylla Road in Nunhead.
In 2015, people across Peckham and Nunhead came together through local institutions to discuss the challenges they faced in their daily lives. The lack of affordable housing was one of the most frequently raised, and formed the agenda for a new community alliance, Peckham Citizens, launched in 2016.
Over the next few years, the group negotiated with Southwark Council about supporting CLT homes, considering homes as part of wider council developments, and undertaking a wide-ranging site search across SE15.
Scylla Road was settled upon in 2020. We supported initial feasibility work, and London CLT are now focused on how to deliver genuinely and permanently affordable homes on this site.
They aim to create a distinctive and welcoming place that is good for both local people and the environment, based on an understanding of how the community works. They will bring together ideas on how to improve the site, meet local need, and design homes and public realm that is relevant to the local context.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich released these sites in Kidbrooke specifically for Community Land Trusts
Greenwich join a string of boroughs including Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Croydon, and Camden in creating opportunities for community led housing, with several others working on individual schemes.
Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr Anthony Okereke said “this initiative is part of our pledge to use innovative approaches to develop affordable housing in perpetuity for the borough’s residents and create sustainable communities”.
Greenwich Citizens Housing and London CLT were successful in being selected with designs consisting of two modest, low-rise infill housing schemes which carefully respond to their immediate neighbours. The proposals look to enhance their surroundings and public realm, including a focus on improving the well used pedestrian route from Susan Road to the Kidbrooke Parade.
They also secured the Fleixstowe Road site in Abbey Wood.
How we’re helping
We supported two groups in preparing proposals for the council, and are funding London CLT to progress a planning application with Archio.
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.