Living an alternative lifestyle - the new normal

Community-led housing could be the way our future housing stock is built and economies of scale could make them affordable and most of all sustainable.

We cannot continue to build homes that are linked to the gas grid and adhere to archaic building standards. Our climate is changing and our homes of the future must offer protection from changing weather systems and be powered by alternative technology.

The next generation of architects is already being trained to see that new homes will be built in collaboration with those that live in them - community engagement at planning and design level is the new future. Everyone deserves to live in a well-constructed eco home that once was the province of those who could afford the custom build.

Local authorities need the vision and co-operation to work with their communities to find housing solutions that lead to resilient diverse communities that become the guardians of their homes and their environment. Social and cultural inclusivity must be the way forward for our wellbeing and a new lifestyle for all on this fragile planet.

Nottingham Cohousing is a Community Land Trust: an independent organisation that champions affordable, sustainable community-led housing. We have been in operation since 2016 and, during that time, we’ve looked at sites in various places around the city of Nottingham. In particular, we submitted a bid for the library site in Sherwood (2018) to establish 22 homes and rebuild the library. We pulled out when the bid profile was altered and new costs were beyond our reach but we continue to look.

Our aim is to enable community-led housing to take root in Nottingham and the surrounding area, as we have experience of the process to effectively deliver this. We have successfully engaged experts in developing the ideas and galvanised community groups to make it happen.

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For more about Nottingham Cohousing, visit: https://nottinghamcohousing.org.uk/ (opens new window)  

And, if you found this of interest, check out other relevant resources on cohousing and community-lead housing curated by the Housing LIN on our dedicated housing for older webpages.

Lastly, if you would like to find out more about how the Housing LIN can support you develop your housing for older people strategic vision and/or operational plans to meet the future accommodation needs of older adults, please email us at: info@housinglin.org.uk