community led housing london

Other CLH

Mace Housing Co-op

Mace Housing Co-op is a fully mutual cooperative who provide housing for single people and homeless families.

Mace manages around 300 properties, leased from housing associations and private owners across eight London boroughs. They employ a number of full time staff and aim to secure leases of at least three years from property owners.

Mace received funding from the Empty Homes Community Grant in 2012 to bring vacant properties in Hackney and Camden back into use. The cooperative also received funding from the local authority and developed a total of 44 units on leases of 10 years. The grant total of £1.25 million was match funded with £800k of private sector funding.

In early 2017, Camden Council awarded Mace a grant from the first round of the Community Housing Fund. They were able to use this to refurbish flats, which they secured on leases of ten years from a private owner, and to re-house three families nominated by the local authority.

The Co-op believes that its members and the communities it serves, should be empowered through practical skills training and launched its SEAP (Skills Empowerment and Advisory Project) Programme last year. The programme is designed specifically for the unemployed and others that are interested in pursuing a career in operational areas of Housing Management.

 

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Headway Self Build

The Headway Self Build Collective are Clarion Housing Association residents who came together to build their own homes on a disused garage site. A contractor built the structural shell and residents finished with joinery, fixtures and fittings.
 

Number of homes 10 rented
Location Walthamstow
Project Stage Built 2015

How they formed
In 2006, founding member John Struthers spoke with residents on neighbouring housing estates, put an ad in the local newspaper and leafleted homes to see who might be interested in a self build scheme. A group of twenty people came forward, many of whom were in overcrowded council flats and assessed by Waltham Forest Council to be in housing need but were unlikely to be eligible for re-housing in the foreseeable future. With the help of the Community Self-Build Agency (CSBA), they persuaded Circle 33 Housing Trust (now Clarion Housing Association) and the local authority to support a self-build scheme.

Site
The disused garage site was owned by Circle 33 and surrounded by the back gardens of neighbouring houses. The housing association had sought planning permission for affordable housing on three occasions which were all unsuccessful for reasons that included over development, loss of off-street parking and inadequate vehicular access. Because of this, they were prepared to take a different approach.

Finance
The group did not want wish to take on the financing and development risk of the project and remain Circle 33 residents. The site and homes remain in ownership of the housing association and residents pay social rent. Circle 33 included the project in their first Affordable Homes Programme, which means the scheme is part funded by the Greater London Authority.

Design and Construction
The Community Self-Build Agency recommended a ‘shell and fit out’ development whereby a contractor builds the structural shell of the houses and the self-builders carry out second fix carpentry and carrying out decorations. The composition of the group required a mix of 2, 3 and 4 bedroom houses including an accessible home for a wheelchair user. Jon Broome Architects produced three options for ten homes on the site and the group decided on a cul-de-sac arrangement with private front and back gardens.

Circle 33’s Project Managers negotiated a design and build contract with Kind & Co, a local contractor who built the infrastructure and conventional prefabricated timber-framed brick-clad shells for the two-storey houses. Waltham Forest College provided training in basic construction for the self-builders as well as tutors and apprentices to work on site. It took two years for all the planning applications, plans, transport studies, local consultations, designs and contracts to be agreed before they started on site in November 2014.

 

image copyright Nigel Howard

Hazelhurst Court

Phoenix Community Housing, a resident-led non-mutual housing organisation, have completed their first development of 60 one and two-bed extra care homes for affordable rent next to their existing properties for older people, freeing up some of their larger properties.

Number of homes 60 extra-care homes at affordable rent
Location Bellingham
Project Stage Built 2017

How they formed
Phoenix Community Housing was created in 2007 as the first community gateway in London and one of just four in the UK. The community gateway model was developed by the Confederation of Co-operative Housing, Co-operatives UK and the Chartered Institute of Housing to give tenants more control of their communities.
They were transferred ownership of 6,500 homes in Bellingham and Downham from Lewisham Council. As a non-mutual society, they are controlled by more than 2,500 shareholding residents, whilst allowing non-members to be tenants as well. The model empowers tenants and leaseholders to take a central part in decision-making as shareholding members. Tenants and leaseholders elected by residents are the largest group on the management board. The chair and vice chair of the board are both tenants.
All residents are encouraged to get involved to influence services and future priorities. Phoenix support local community initiatives to improve the environment and quality of life and are consistently named one of the best landlords in the UK.

Site
In 2014, Phoenix Community Housing identified an opportunity to provide new homes for their older residents on an underused, but constrained site, adjacent to a 1960s block of flats. This will in turn free up larger homes for local families. As their first new build development, Phoenix were keen to set a high standard for others in the pipeline.

Funding and Affordability
The project was funded by Phoenix’s own borrowing facility with grant funding from the GLA and Lewisham Council. Rent for a 1 bed home is around £166 per week, and there are further service charges and costs to cover extra care services.

Design and Construction
As a resident-led organisation, Phoenix engaged extensively with existing and new residents. Many of the discussions at consultation events informed elements of the design by Levitt Bernstein Architects, which has won several awards.
The building works with the tight plot and adjoins the existing block to form a horseshoe with two new courtyards, one enclosed and intimate and another more open and green, connected by a new garden room, providing a light-filled communal space. All homes are dual aspect and accessed via outdoor galleries. Planters and seats in front of kitchen windows allow for personal gardening and socialising. The brick lattice screens in front of entrance doors provide a degree of privacy, whilst balcony details reference the 1960’s building next door.

Living there
The extra care apartments have been specifically designed around the needs of older people who wish to remain independent in a home of their own. Around two thirds of residents will require some personal care, for some this will be minimal, while others may need a higher level of care.
There are care and support staff on site 24/7. The staff also work with residents to develop social, recreational and educational activities open to both residents and older people living locally. The scheme also has communal areas, including a catering kitchen and dining area, activity room, garden room, lounge area and a shared courtyard garden.
The homes are available for Lewisham residents over 55 in need of the care available at the scheme. Existing Phoenix tenants looking to downsize are prioritised to free up larger properties for others.

What’s next
Phoenix have an active pipeline of developments, and recently completed Springbank Court.

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