Cornerstone Housing Co-operative

Cornerstone is not so much a community as a collective of people who share the running of a housing co-op, but who have different political perspectives and focuses for their daily lives. Cornerstone has two large Victorian houses in Chapeltown, a culturally diverse part of inner-city Leeds. Both houses need a lot of ongoing maintenance, and have large gardens front and back, which we variously hang out in, tend or leave wild, attracting wildlife and producing some food (herbs, fruit and veg). One house has space for 7 members, the other for 8, and there are sometimes short and long-term visitors increasing our numbers. Both houses have large cellars which are home to a wide range of projects – bikes, workshops, brewing and Footprint Workers Co-operative (printers). We have been able to support a variety of other cooperatives to grow and develop within Leeds. There is an emphasis on members being socially active, and are often involved in local and national campaigns on a diverse range of issues with emphasis on consensus and non-hierarchy. We eat together, run the houses together, and make decisions together. Cornerstone is an active member of Radical Routes, the UK-wide secondary co-op promoting co-operation and working for radical social change.