Kennet And Thames CoHousing

It all starts with people… Vision Statement We aim to create a cohousing development in Berkshire which will give 20 to 40 households of various sizes and age ranges their own self-contained homes, a percentage of which will be housing for rent or part-buy. Our common indoor areas will include kitchen, dining area and lounge for shared meals and socializing. There will also be provision for office and workshop space, potentially small business units for rent, and some common outdoor space. The development will be managed by the residents using consensus decision making where possible. Whether new-build, renovation or a mix of the two, the architecture and design will facilitate social and environmental sustainability. The location will have good transport connections, and we will foster good relations with, and aim to provide some benefits to, the surrounding community. KATCH members It all starts with people…

Key Aspects of Cohousing Private homes and shared facilities Village-sized development Intentional neighbourhood design Neighbourhood managed by residents Initial impetus: “Social network to provide more support for the nuclear family” So: Courtyards pedestrian streets patios But also… No lack of privacy Practical advantages Store Dinners Cars Childcare Laundry Lawn mower Sailing boat!

An Example Cohousing Site 2.5 acres 33 dwellings common house business units An Example Cohousing Site

Shared House and Facilities Standard Kitchen Dining room Living room Large flexible space Laundry Desirable Workshop Office space Store room / shop Children/Teenagers room Meeting Hall Guest rooms People!!

Springhill “The street” & common house Pedestrian Street. Facilitates neighbourly interaction. “Life between the buildings”. Safe and inviting space. The invisible threads that cohere a society happen (or don’t happen) here. Residents can informally discuss things as they mutually care for the environment. Children can grow up with a wider safety zone, as in past times, with a richer experience for them and a safety valve for their parents! “The street” & common house

Trudeslund, Denmark Initial impetus: “Social network to provide more support for the nuclear family” Layout Courtyards & pedestrian streets Common house centrally placed Patios & clustered houses Woodland Cars on edge Social life No lack of privacy! Store & Laundry Dinners & Childcare Sailing boat! Lawn mower 33 families (built 1981)

Why Cohousing? Feeling safe and connected Good neighbourly support Attractive shared space Onsite shared activities - planned and unplanned! Isolation and minimal collaboration: A lot of people don’t have anyone to cooperate with in their daily lives And don’t know their neighbours Fear: What concerns people most about where they live? Crime and antisocial behaviour Shared space: People are disgruntled about dirty streets, neglected open spaces, lack of good lighting, and no good facilities for young people

Benefits of Cohousing Cohousing comprehensively addresses the key environmental issues that face us today. As a social unit which is more self-reliant but also more consciously connected to others, it is a lifestyle of less consumption and less expenditure. As an Intentional Neighbourhood, there is more warmth in interpersonal connections, and better neighbourhood cohesion than the norm, through resident management and a thriving network of community activity. Sustainable living is part of the cohousing ethos. As such, where practical steps to reduce footprint are possible, there will be a collective effort to engage in such things. For instance, the energy provision, the layout of the site, and building materials used will be chosen for high eco standards. Resource sharing. Cookers, cars, washing machines, lawn-mowers etc. With some sharing, less of these are needed, and less used, significantly reducing the overall carbon footprint of the neighbourhood. A cohousing neighbourhood also provides a focal point for activity, both social and work, so that people don’t need to travel so much to meet their needs. Cohousing developments may choose to meet certain environmental targets, such as a Low-Impact Sustainable Settlement, or “LISS”. Quote: “Its so much easier to be green here. Our dry goods shop means we can do bulk buying, we’re proud of our biomass district heating, and thank God for our car sharing now that the price of petrol is rocketing up week by week. But best of all, lots of our social life involves walking down to the common house – we don’t have to travel miles for an evening out.”

1. Social Sustainability Site design facilitates community spirit Optional meals in common house 3 or 4 times a week Residents empowered through self-management Informal support between residents Quality of Life Safe environment for all Socially, cohousing is a response to the real problems of the 21st century; of isolation and loss of community. It provides a rich hub of community life through social, recreational, cultural and economic activity. For people living in a cohousing neighbourhood, aspirations become more social and less material/consumerist. Although people still have material capital in home ownership, a sense of the worth of SOCIAL CAPITAL is cultivated. Site design facilitates community spirit. For instance, cars kept to the periphery, well placed buildings, good common resources and carefully planned common areas, all lead to an attractive shared physical space which attracts people to be part of the community. See Cohousing site designs As an adult is one in 30 to 70 people, each has a much greater say in what happens in the neighbourhood than they would in part of a town, so they feel engaged in what happens, and in the design. As the people all know each other, they tend to think about the benefits to everyone else in the community as well as themselves, and take pleasure in enabling social initiatives. The consensus decision making also encourages people to be more aware of how other people are affected by decisions. There is a creative process to try to find solutions to communal issues that will work for everybody. By knowing each other, and each other’s life situations, lots of informal support springs up between people, which significantly improves the quality of life for lonely or infirm people, while reducing their dependence on formal, council funded support. For instance, residents might help with an elderly person’s shopping or simple maintenance tasks, a single mother’s child care, or a neighbour’s dog walking. And through simply being an environment where neighbours stop and chat, people’s general happiness is benefitted. With a good mix of people and the benefits of the communal facilities, there are many different ways that people can engage in activities and social life together, much of it without leaving the site. A cohousing community is a safe neighbourhood – Neighbourhood Watch times ten. Far from a gated community, visitors are welcome (and would probably be invited to something rather than challenged!), but anybody or anything threatening would be known about very soon. Crime and the fear of crime are much reduced. Children who live in cohousing tend to be more confident and engaged than their peers. When some event comes up, either in the cohousing or outside, the strength of numbers that the community can muster can often provide the critical mass for the event to be a success. Whether it is providing an audience for a performance, supporting the local fete, or getting a youth summer scheme going, when a cohousing neighbourhood gets behind a project, it will most probably take wing.

Our group visit to Sussex – the biomass boiler 2. Environmental Sustainability Reduced travel and car use Reduced energy use Reduced waste Cohousing comprehensively addresses the key environmental issues that face us today. As a social unit which is more self-reliant but also more consciously connected to others, it is a lifestyle of less consumption and less expenditure. As an Intentional Neighbourhood, there is more warmth in interpersonal connections, and better neighbourhood cohesion than the norm, through resident management and a thriving network of community activity. Sustainable living is part of the cohousing ethos. As such, where practical steps to reduce footprint are possible, there will be a collective effort to engage in such things. For instance, the energy provision, the layout of the site, and building materials used will be chosen for high eco standards. Resource sharing. Cookers, cars, washing machines, lawn-mowers etc. With some sharing, less of these are needed, and less used, significantly reducing the overall carbon footprint of the neighbourhood. A cohousing neighbourhood also provides a focal point for activity, both social and work, so that people don’t need to travel so much to meet their needs. Cohousing developments may choose to meet certain environmental targets, such as a Low-Impact Sustainable Settlement, or “LISS”. Quote: “Its so much easier to be green here. Our dry goods shop means we can do bulk buying, we’re proud of our biomass district heating, and thank God for our car sharing now that the price of petrol is rocketing up week by week. But best of all, lots of our social life involves walking down to the common house – we don’t have to travel miles for an evening out.” Our group visit to Sussex – the biomass boiler

Environmentally friendly build Self-build option for the adventurous

3. Benefits to wider community Good neighbours Provision of local facilities and activities Engagement in local life A route to enabling local people to stay in area Provision of affordable and sustainable housing Good neighbours Engaged in the locality. The strength of a network. Community awareness. Low impact – eg less car use Local facilities and activities Possible spaces for hire. Businesses. Activities for wider community; eg parents network, yoga group, singing group, reading group, etc. Local life The cohousing community can draw people together to provide people to support local events, eg charity events, fayres, chilren’s plays etc. Affordable housing Cohousing schemes often offer a percentage of affordable housing through a registered provider to be available for people in housing need.

4. Affordable Low living costs Resource sharing Reduced travel Affordable housing under a variety of tenures As a result of the resource sharing, the reduced energy costs, and the onsite life, living costs in a cohousing neighbourhood are significantly less than normal Because of all the shared facilities, the size of individual units can be smaller and cheaper to run than similar units outside the cohousing, without sacrificing comfort and convenience. Affordable housing There are a number of ways of providing affordable homes, and it is the ethos of cohousing to offer this where possible

Drawing together expertise www.cohousing.org.uk Information & Support Networking Events Drawing together expertise

Cohousing in the UK Projects in the pipeline Lancaster – build in progress London Countryside Cohousing Bridport LILAC (Leeds – site now purchased) Oxford Cohousing KATCH Up and running Springhill, Stroud The Community Project, Sussex The Threshold Centre, Dorset (Some projects are new-build, others refurbishments)

Springhill, Stroud Springhill Cohousing in Stroud – one of the pedestrian streets

Lancaster Cohousing Autumn 2011 Build this December taking one year approx. Autumn 2011 “We are now preparing the site for our Cohousing project with private homes, community facilities, workshop/offices and shared outdoor space”

Our team and network Partnership with Aster Housing Association Links with UK Cohousing Network Architect member, Jean Murphy Sustainability consultant Support from West Berks Housing Officers MP Richard Benyon

Our possible KATCHment areas… Considerations: West Berkshire’s LDF Connectivity Our wishes

KATCH can provide a housing scheme with… A sustainable model An attractive and innovative neighbourhood A low-impact settlement Community cohesion

We are looking for a location where there is a wish for… A housing model that aims to work in partnership with the local community A development whose ethos is a known quantity A development that is innovative, sustainable, and builds community

And finally, some scenarios… Cohousing can be: Stand-alone, or part of a larger housing scheme New-build, or part use of existing buildings Include a self-build option Flexible and sensitive to surrounding area, as future residents part of design process A good answer on an unusual site More than one cohousing projects; Urban v Rural locations

Thank you for listening Any questions? www.katch.org.uk admin@katch.org.uk

McCamant and Durrett