- The Drive Housing Co-op
- Cornerstone Housing Co-operative
- Earth Heart
- Trelay
- Old Chapel Farm
- Woodhead Community
- Oakleigh
- Hargrave Road Community
- Forgebank
- Newbold House
- Fireside Housing Co-op
- Monimail Tower Project
- Heartwood Community
- Old Hall Community
- Dol-llys Hall
- Monkton Wyld Court
This community is currently seeking New Member(s)!
Are you interested in becoming a Member of Trelay?
As well as the general idea of what we are about, you will want to know the details of what living spaces are available; how to join the community and come to live here; how to visit us and get to know us; and who lives here at present. We are in a state of change at the moment, because several people are leaving and more are coming, so the answers to these questions keep changing. The best way to find out what you need to know is to come to an Interest Day. There is more information about this below.
Living in the Trelay community is absolutely wonderful in many respects, but community living is not for everyone, and some people find they can’t get on with communal decision-making and the difficulties of sharing things. It is easy to visit Trelay and see it as a sort of paradise on Earth, and it is true, the farm itself is stunningly beautiful, and near the sea and a wonderful coastline. However, it is not always paradise here. There is mud and there are gales. There are arguments and all the usual human difficulties. Also, it is expensive! We chose to buy this lovely place and took a mortgage of nearly a million pounds to pay for it. So everyone who comes here needs to be prepared to work hard, raise money to pay their share somehow, and to practice tolerance and forgiveness too.
But if this is the place for you, then you may find that it is the best way of life you have even known.
We moved into Trelay Farm in April 2007. There was a farmhouse and several cottages with residential planning permission. We have built two log cabins and divided some of the house into flats, so now there are 12 potential living spaces; potential because one is half-built and one is being refurbished. In addition we have drawn up plans for a loft conversion which we are about to submit for planning permission, and we are starting to draw up plans for 5 new ecohouses.
So, we have at least 12, and will possibly have 18 living spaces if we are successful with our planning applications. At present we have 10 households living here.
The financial set-up is difficult to describe in a few words, you really do need to come to an Interest Day to have it all explained to you! In a nutshell, you are asked to take financial responsibility for your living space under a mutual home ownership arrangement.
We run “Interest Days” monthly on the second Saturday of each month. These days cost £50 per person (half-price children) including food, and are specifically for people who are interested in coming to live with us (or who wish to learn from us about how to set up a community). During one of these, you are shown everything we are doing and you are given a “financial and legal” presentation. You need to attend one of these before applying to be a member of our community.
See more on our website www.trelay.org, or ring 01840 230 423 (usually answerphone).
Hope to see you soon!
Trelay
Trelay is a small cohousing community in North Cornwall. It is a wonderful place to live! We currently have nearly 20 residents but some are moving on, so soon there will be spaces available. We each have our own private living space and there are several community buildings and 30 acres of land. We aim towards environmental, social and financial sustainability.
Trelay is set in a beautiful location with sea views. There are wild flowers and butterflies in profusion. The peace and quiet, the ravens and buzzards, starry skies and occasional gales calm or stir the spirit.
Trelay members share the land and a number of communal buildings. The ground floor of the farmhouse, where we often meet for communal meals, has a large kitchen and dining room. The Games Room has table tennis and pool tables, and can be cleared for music and dancing. The Green Barn has a camping barn within it and a range of communal workshop and storage facilities. We have planning permission for a farm shop too. There is a large polytunnel with a second one planned, a garden shed, a lockable tool store and a laundry with shared washing machines and dryers.
We have several dozen fruit trees, an extensive soft fruit area, a large communal vegetable patch and other plots where people grow food. Individuals, couples or small groups take responsibility for animals in some of the communal fields. We have 12 pigs, 3 ponies and a Dexter cow and calf, as well as quite a few chickens. We have two acres of woodland and a shared log store. Trelay has a private sewage system which is being developed into a series of reedbeds. There is a small PV roof and more renewable energy projects are under discussion.
We really enjoy living here and have lots of fun together. We have many ideas for new projects too, which will involve some hard work! Would you like to come and join in with our lifestyle?
