Welcome to UK Cohousing

The Government has launched a Community Housing Fund to support small, community organisations wanting to create homes in their local areas for people who need secure, decent, affordable places to live.

Many skills are involved in creating homes, including finding viable sites; empty homes and disused buildings; finance and audit; legal structures and contracts; planning and design; building regulations, access, fairness and openness; ongoing management. Training in these areas is crucial in order to be eligible for Governments funds and support. The Think Tank will discuss these requirements and ways to access professional support.

There are technical barriers to developing homes and contributing to local development. This Think Tank will work through the barriers and help groups problem solve- it will present successful case studies, and discuss the potential of projects through roundtable sessions.

Representatives from Government will attend the Think Tank, and help to clarify how we can turn policy into practice. The event is supported by the National Community Land Trust Network, the Confederation of Co-operative Housing, the National Federation of Tenant Management Organisations and the Nationwide Foundation.

Costs: £170 per participant, including B&B accommodation and all meals. Second or further participants from the same organisation pay £140

Due to a small bursary fund the organisers are able to offer some reduced places, including B&B accommodation, all meals and resources. Please contact Philippa Allard at Trafford Hall on p.allard@traffordhall.com or 01244 300246 for more information or to book. You can also book online at https://traffordhall.com/community-programmes/booking/

Nottingham Cohousing is championing community-led housing for Nottingham people – to enable ‘local people to play a leading and lasting role in solving housing problems and create genuinely affordable homes and strong communities in ways that are difficult to achieve through mainstream housing’ (National Community Land Trust Network).

Over two years ago a small group of people interested in finding innovative solutions to challenging housing issues got together. With support from many individuals and organisations including East Midlands Community Led Housing, the Royal Society of Arts, Nottingham City Homes and Nottingham City Council, Nottingham Cohousing become a Community Benefit Society and Community Land Trust. We developed initial proposals for a site in 2018, and as a result have learnt a massive amount along the way and are ready for the future opportunities. The government has set up a Community-Led Housing Fund of over £163million to be distributed by Homes England and using this fund Nottingham City Council plan to appoint an officer to support local development.

At this meeting you will hear:
– What we have achieved in 2018 and our aspirations for 2019
– Bill Bewley from Keswick Community Housing Trust tell the story of how they built their first 11 homes – the challenges and lessons learned.
– about the Community -Led Housing Fund
– how you can become a member of Nottingham Cohousing – whether you are interested in a home for yourself or want to support development of community-led housing locally.

Tickets are free but limited so please book now.