What is Community-Led Housing?
Community-led housing is about local people playing a leading and lasting role in solving local housing problems, creating genuinely affordable homes and strong communities in ways that are difficult to achieve through mainstream housing. This gives local people greater control over their own housing provision and community assets, rather than relying on the commercial market.
Community-led housing is a growing movement in the UK and can be delivered in urban and rural areas, through new build or refurbished housing. It can include a range of tenures including Affordable Rent, Low Cost Home Ownership, market rent and private home ownership and is often developed alongside other community facilities such as allotments, orchards and meeting places.
Forms of community-led housing include:
- Self-help housing
- Co-operative and Mutual Home Ownership
- Co-housing
- Group Custom Build
- Group Self-build
You can!
There are many ways in which a community-led housing project gets off the ground. As with many local initiatives, people with a common interest will come together to discuss and move things forward. So community-led housing can be led by an already established local community group or by individuals who group together informally, e.g. those interested in self-build or who wish to explore co-housing options. Parish or town councils may also instigate community-led housing because they recognise the need for affordable homes for local people in their neighbourhood.
GRCC supporting community-led housing in the Cotswold District
GRCC can offer support to communities and individuals in the Cotswold District who are interested in moving forward with any form of affordable community-led housing.
GRCC will:
- Come to speak to your group or community to explain the different approaches
- Provide you with detailed information leaflets and examples for each model of community-led housing
- Link you with community-led housing initiatives locally or further away so that you can learn more
- Help you make an informed decision about the best approach for your community
- Broker links with relevant partners - e.g. Housing Associations, Stroud District Council
- Help you source funding for your community-led housing scheme
- Support you to find other like-minded people who may want to be involved
- Conduct housing needs analysis / surveys
- Support you with research for your scheme
- Help with composing partnership agreements
- Help you engage with professionals that can give you technical advice on housing development
Contact us
To find out more about how we support community-led housing in Cotswold District contact us on 01452 528491 or email info@grcc.org.uk