community led housing london

Cohousing

Rising Sun Housing Co-op

The Rising Sun Housing Co-operative was formed by a group of creatives living in a former pub, when their landlord put it on the market. They are seeking investment to finalise the purchase and secure their homes.

The building is used as both a home and workspace. It contains facilities such as a recording studio, rehearsal space, intimate venue and design studio which members of the community are allowed to use free of charge. On top of this, it provides crucial and increasingly rare affordable housing and a space for young creatives to build networks and meet other like-minded people. In short, The Rising Sun is a hub for all manner of creative outputs and a staple part of the local art and music culture.

The residents formed the co-operative to buy the pub from the landlord who recently put it on the market. This will allow them to provide additional affordable housing and studio space for their members. Having already improved their EPC rating from an F to a D, the co-operative is also looking to take further measures to improve the energy efficiency of the building, including loft insulation, new draught proofing, more double glazing and solar panels.

The Rising Sun have raised almost three-quarters of the equity they need to secure the space, but are still looking for investors to raise the rest as loan stock with attractive rates of interest.

 

How we’re helping
We supported their incorporation and helped to commission financial modelling and business planning, which has helped the co-op secure mortgages in principle, and prepare their loan stock offer. We have been directly involved in negotiating with the landowner and agents to get their offer accepted, and bringing solicitors on board and are on hand to see the deal through.

 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.

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

Ginger Giraffe Collective

A cohousing project aiming to create community housing for both those who have health and social care needs and those who can provide this care.

The aim of Ginger Giraffe Collective is to build a cohousing community comprised of those who have health and social care needs, such as disabled and elderly people, as well as those who can provide the necessary support, such as carers and students.

The project was formed by a group of disabled people, academics, key workers practising in the field and students who came together to reimagine the delivery of health, social care, and housing.

Guided by the principle of co-production, their housing model not only ensures that individuals’ care and support needs are met but also addresses the issue of housing affordability for key workers and allows students to receive a unique service-user based learning experience whilst on placement.

How we’re helping
We helped develop clarity to their innovative model and how it would work in practice, supporting an initial business plan.

Visit their website

Sycamore Housing

A group living in the private rented sector and working towards a long-term housing solution.

They aim to have secure, affordable homes, combining personal autonomy with communal elements like shared space, decision making and facilities.

Several members are active in housing campaigns such as the London Renters’ Union and are motivated by collective ownership of property, rather than seeing it as an asset. They want to create a future community of 10 households in North East London with a caring and supportive environment and where residents are democratically in control.

They are incorporated as a Mutual Home Ownership Society which allows the accumulation of acquiring equity shares as part of monthly payments.

How we’re helping
We have provided advice and supported incorporation and proposals for sites in LB Waltham Forest.