Co-Hut is recruiting new members in Newcastle-upon-Tyne

A brief introduction to CoHUT & our current position

CoHUT came together in 2013, following a series of public community housing events. There have been a variety of Members over the years, all working together to formulate a shared vision for a cohousing community in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Our shared vision includes: individual living space with common areas and shared facilities (laundry, bike shed, guest accommodation, workshop, gardens); connected living, with regular communal meals and celebrations in our common house; respect of each other’s personal life and privacy; becoming active members of our wider surrounding community; a respectful approach to the environment with a focus on low impact living (including the reduction of personal car use); building a community run by all members, with the expectation that everyone contributes to the work of living in a community and being responsible custodians of our homes.

In its current form CoHUT is a group of 6 Members. You can find out a bit more about us on the Members page of our website.

MEMBERS

In 2018 we started working with our enabling developer TOWN, which has a wealth of experience in delivering sustainable and community-led housing. TOWN introduced us to Newcastle-based architects MawsonKerr in 2019 and we have been working as a team ever since. Newcastle City Council is supportive of our project; in early 2020 they generously offered us a site in Benwell, to the west of the city centre.

In December 2021 we were granted planning permission for our scheme of 25 homes, common house and communal gardens. The scheme is designed to Passivhaus standards intended to provide low impact living for generations to come. You can view an extract from our Design & Access Statement on our website.

DESIGN & ACCESS STATEMENT

Financial model

CoHUT is committed to developing an affordable housing community. We are working on a financial model based on the principle of Mutual Home Ownership Societies (MHOS). MHOS disconnects the occupation of properties from the underlying value of the land, protecting the scheme from fluctuations in the property market. This will ensure that homes remain permanently affordable for successive members of our cooperative society.

With the help of a mortgage, CoHUT will own all the homes. Members are allocated the amount of equity shares that relate to the home they wish to live in, and agree to pay for some (a deposit) or all of those equity shares. Members also agree to pay a monthly ‘rent’ that covers:

• the mortgage interest
• an agreed instalment towards any remaining equity shares that relate to your home, and
• the community levy (to enable CoHUT to insure, repair and maintain homes and shared areas as well as cover the running of the common house)

See Community Led Housing London’s Introduction to Mutual Home Ownership Societies for a more detailed explanation.

INTRODUCTION TO MUTUAL HOME OWNERSHIP SOCIETIES

Building to Passivhaus standards isn’t cheap, but many current building practices represent a greater cost to our planet. Living costs at CoHUT will be low. Passivhaus standards ensure that energy use will be a fraction of that of a conventional house. Building maintenance and many internal repairs and renovations will be the financial responsibility of the cooperative society, meaning that individual households won’t have the risk of unexpected bills when a roof leaks or a boiler needs replacing. Access to shared facilities (such as laundry and workshops, cars and cargo bikes) will reduce the expense of individual ownership.

TOWN are currently helping CoHUT prepare estimated costs for individual homes throughout our scheme. These estimates will form part of the application form, available from our website.

Next stages

CoHUT is looking forward to welcoming new members to our group. As well as finalising details of our financial model the group has the following tasks ahead of us: securing funding to complete the final predevelopment work; tendering for the lead contractor; building links with our surrounding community; designing the interiors of our houses; lining up a mortgage provider for once the development is complete; working with landscape architects to design the communal grounds, and many more.  We have an (estimated) move-in date of December 2024.  Help us make this happen!

Formal expression of interest requirements

This is an option for those who are unable to commit to joining our working group at this time, but would like to be CoHUT Members at a later date, and live at CoHUT once it is built.

Those making a formal expression of interest are also asked to pay monthly subs of £5.

You will be asked to indicate your housing preference as well as your household’s ability to meet the financial requirements detailed within the application form. CoHUT Member preferences on property choice will be prioritised above those submitting a formal expression of interest.

New members application process

What you need to know:

• Applications for New Members are open until 11:59pm on 12th September 2022.
• Applications are to be submitted by email to cohousingupontyne@gmail.com
• Subject line: CoHUT Membership Application
• Application forms will be available to download on our website from Saturday 23rd July

Prospective Members will be notified of the outcome of their application by the end of September 2022.

Prospective Members will be invited to join the group and attend our fortnightly meetings. There will be a trial period of 3 months to give everyone a chance to get to know each other and for the Prospective Members to get a feel for the meeting process. Prospective Members will take part in looking in detail at our financial model and ongoing design processes.

At the end of the trial period, the existing Members and Prospective Members will discuss how this period has been and whether the Prospective Members wish to continue in the group. Dependent on the content of this conversation, Prospective Members will be invited to join the group and become Members.

During the trial period we will operate a twin track decision making process, with Members taking decisions to ensure the project continues to move forward, while Prospective Members input into discussions.