Cohousing upon Tyne (CoHUT)

About

It will soon be two years since planning permission was granted for our scheme of twenty-five homes, common house, and communal gardens on a one hectare site in Benwell, to the west of the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne. The pandemic inevitably disrupted progress, and prospective members have come and gone, but we have not stood still. The scheme, as designed by MawsonKerr architects, won ‘best urban regeneration project’ in the Housing Design Awards, 2022. CoHUT aspires to be home to a diverse, inclusive, mixed-income, intergenerational community that is NOW forming! Early this year we gathered in person to ‘walk the boundaries’ of the site (pictured).

Our plan is to remain open to new joiners on a rolling basis until all twenty-five homes have expressions of interest attached. Once our revised costings have been determined late this summer, we will begin recruitment for CoHUT residents in earnest. 

CoHUT will be based around a mutual home ownership model (MHOS), so members have an equity stake in the community and can build that equity instead of paying rent to a landlord. 

Newcastle is affordable in comparison to most other areas of the UK, and is a vibrant city appealing to families, students, and retirees from other parts of the country. The homes will be extremely energy-efficient and low-impact – built to Passivhaus standards – and many resources will be shared among community members.

The community will consist of three one-bed and seven two-bed houses as well as two two-bed duplexes and one and two-bed flats. Two of the planned flats have been designed to be age-friendly and/or accessible for people with mobility issues. A Common House is incorporated for communal meals, gatherings, guest rooms, and activity areas as well as laundry facilities, and bike storage.

We are eager to welcome larger families and the scheme includes a good number of larger houses (seven three-bed and two four-bed). There are plans for one of the larger units to serve as a shared house

We have an estimated move-in time-frame of autumn 2025.   

Browse our website for stories published in the local press about our growth to date, and to express your interest using the form provided on our site:

(https://cohousingupontyne.org.uk/our-journey/

and email us (cohousingupontyne@gmail.com) with any questions you might have that might not be covered in the FAQ on our website.


Please consider joining us! It is the members that determine the tone and spirit of the community as well as its guidelines and governance. If you see yourself living in a permaculture-inspired cohousing scheme, the first of its kind on Tyneside, follow this link (https://cohousingupontyne.org.uk/join-us/) explaining the recruitment process and to see the drawings of the TOWN scheme that will soon be a reality.

TOWN is working as enabling developer with Cohousing upon Tyne (CoHuT), to deliver Newcastle’s first purpose-built cohousing community.

https://www.wearetown.co.uk/cohousing/

More details about the scheme here: https://www.wearetown.co.uk/projects/cohut/

  • Group Status: Developing
  • Location: North East
  • Website: https://cohousingupontyne.org.uk/
  • Email: cohousingupontyne@gmail.com

Group Types

Eco, Intergenerational, New build

Group Tenure

Mutual home-ownership