Developing Communities
These groups are at many different stages of development. Some may be a bunch of people with an idea, some may be at a very advanced stage – perhaps about to purchase a property and looking for people with capital and commitment. Bear in mind that much of the information may be aspirational.
If you’re starting up a new project and are looking to attract more people then e-mail us. We would expect Developing Communities to have reasonably thought through ideas, 10 or 12 prospective members and perhaps a website or a legal structure already. We will require some information and a postal address from you before we consider giving you a listing within this section.
If you’re at a much earlier stage (perhaps an individual or small handful of individuals or families) but looking for more people to consider different ideas then do put a notice in the People forming a Group section within the Noticeboard area.
A Lovely Plan
We are three people inspired by nature, community, friendship and wellbeing, looking to start a co-housing project with the values of permaculture, living close to nature, open and honest community, and joyful living. A predominantly plant-based lifestyle is important to us. We are intending to purchase a smallholding + land in SW England/Wales within the next two years. We are at very early stages, we are looking for other people who want to join us in this adventure and be part of shaping the plan. What we end up creating will depend on who else joins us and what land…
Abundant Earth Community
This is what we're attempting in Lincoln/Lincolnshire over the next year. Our project is based predominantly upon an idea around sharing, and cooperation. Sharing knowledge, practical skills, craft skills, and cooperative principles and values in a more community minded way. In principle it is less about making money and more about getting things done, where every member can directly benefit as well as the local and wider community. (Which we believe to be the original aims of the pioneers of cooperatives, dating back at least to the Rochdale pioneers of the early 19th century) The workers cooperative aims would be…
Alive Fifty Plus
Are you nearing retirement age and exploring your options (possibly thinking of downsizing)? You may find those options are pretty limited, especially if you are on a budget with no big pension pot to look forward to. If you’re interested in living more sustainably then there are even fewer opportunities, with housebuilders still clinging to 20th-century building methods and technologies. We are planning something different – an affordable, low-impact community of like-minded people with similar values – a senior cohousing community. ‘Senior cohousing’ isn’t something many Britons have heard of, although it is popular in Scandinavia and some parts of…
Angel Yard Cohousing
Angel Yard is in Norwich, a medieval city in the East of England, UK. Norwich is 90 minutes away from London by train and 30 minutes' drive from the nearest beach. Our two-thirds-of-an-acre site (approx. 0.27 hectares) is on Sussex Street, a Georgian and Victorian residential area close to the city centre. It used to be home to Sussex House but, following bomb damage, it became a mason’s yard and then an industrial unit. The site is a short walk from the River Wensum and Marriott’s Way, an off-road cycle and foot path. It’s close to Magdalen Street, a vibrant…
Barney Fields Elders
Barney Fields is a development of new homes in Hartland, a picturesque village on North Devon’s Atlantic coast. Plans are being developed to deliver sustainable homes designed with home-working in mind, spaces to grow food and a co-housing community for over 55s. These elements are to be set within an ecologically rich pedestrian-priority landscape where children can explore and play freely. Barney Fields Elders is an over 55s Co-housing community which will be located in a quiet and sunny corner of the wider Barney Fields development surrounded by native hedgerows within a short walk of the village centre. It will…
Black Dragon Co-op
We are 6 adults (one child, four dogs, one cat) all working in woods and with a business plan to buy a wood together to work together. We are not incorporated yet, but will be very soon. We want to get on with the work, so we intend to buy the land this year and get on with planning applications and felling timber immediately after. We have a wood in mind. Our aim is to be free of debt in 15 years, autonomous (free from government subsidy), self-supporting (electricity/ water/ wood/ maybe even food on site) and long-lasting. We are…
Bridge Farm Bristol
We’re the new owners of the Bridge Farm site, and we’re the Ashley Vale Action Group – AVAG for short. AVAG was formed in 2000 by a group of residents in Ashley Vale in St Werburghs, Bristol, who were concerned about the development of a former scaffolding yard in their neighbourhood. By bringing together a group of self-builders, AVAG bought the site and created an award-winning housing development there. We are passionate about community-led, environmentally sustainable development and its potential to deliver low cost housing. Having learnt much from that first project, we are now embarking on a second project…
Bridge Farm CoHousing
A land owning family and an expert in eco-construction and sustainable development have joined forces to help create an exciting and rare community housing opportunity in rural South Somerset. With the overall vision agreed, the project is now seeking individuals who would be interested in joining the initiative and become founder core group members of the project team to drive it forward. Bridge Farm Cohousing Project is located between Yeovil and Ilminster and consists of a cohesive complex of a farmhouse, extensive farm buildings, both traditional (Victorian era) and modern, mostly arranged around several courtyards. It has excellent quality growing…
Bridport Cohousing
We are a group of local people working to create an affordable cohousing neighbourhood in Bridport and now have all the legal and contractual agrrements in place to start work on building our cohousing neighbourhood in March 2020. This will be the largest, all affordable cohousing scheme in the UK and will provide a mixed tenure intergenerational neighbourhood of eco homes (1 bed flats and 2,3,and 4 bed houses) for 53 households.26 of the homes will be for social rent through our partner housing association and 27 for leasehold purchase (half of these will be for sale at 80% of…
Brighton Cohousing
Brighton Cohousing is interested in setting up a project somewhere near Brighton.
Cardiff Cohousing
Our vision is to create, within the next 3 years, a housing-based community in Cardiff that will encourage social interaction and mutual support whilst reducing our carbon footprint. The development will include self-contained and accessible homes along with a shared co-house and other facilities for communal use (laundry, tool and bike shed; external space for food-growing and leisure; car pool etc). Housing, designed to maximise planned and informal social contact, will be built in line with ecological sustainable principles. A mixed tenure development, it will include 15-25 private, shared and rented homes, in partnership with a Housing Association. Collaboration in…
Chapeltown Cohousing
Chapeltown Cohousing is creating sustainable and affordable homes for 33 households. Transforming derelict land into a vibrant neighbourhood with low-energy homes, shared facilities and gardens, recreational space, opportunities for inter-generational connections and a diverse intentional community grown from the local area. What makes this venture special is that it is run by local people to benefit local people. At least two-thirds of the residents will come from Chapeltown. We are also working hard to make sure that the group reflects the diversity of the local area in terms of age, ethnicity and wealth. We are currently building and are taking…
Cirencester Cohousing
We are close to securing land in Cirencester near the town centre for our co-housing development of approximately 32 flats and houses, some for sale, some for rent. All buildings will be built to Passivhaus standard with access to a central area for safe play and community activities, gardens, allotments and a playground. Our common house is the jewel in the crown - an exciting design with a large hall, kitchen, creche, laundry, meeting and guest rooms. You can view the planned development on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hcBHWIruFWU To get to know us join one of our online socials. We meet every…
Clachan Cohousing
We are developing a cohousing project, with a view to using land at Maryhill in Glasgow. http://clachancohousing.co.uk/ Cohousing is a model where a group of people build, develop and run their own community. Everyone has their own private home, but there is also a ‘common house’ where residents can come together to share activities and meals together as often as they want. Clachan Cohousing aims to self build our project using energy efficient construction techniques, and use renewable energy sources to create homes with low carbon footprint and low energy bills. We are developing sociocracy as a decision making process…
ClanAlba Housing Co-op
ClanAlba Housing Co-op are looking for gainfully employed/unemployed members...more info soon
Coastal Community
We are a small group of Vegans looking to form a Co housing eco community in South Devon England. We are currently chatting about possibilities with an eye on the property market. Ideally looking for a small farm with outbuildings that could be converted into seperate residential units. We are looking for one or two more people or families to invest in 1-3 bedroom units. Based on permaculture and cohousing principles, we'd like to forge a healthier way of life: grow most of our own food and fuel; generate our own energy; share skills; provide a place for courses, activities,…
Coral Co-housing
We are an independent group of people developing an environmental co-housing project in Sussex. We want to maximise the collective to create a better quality of life; for ourselves and for the wider community. We are open to new contributing members getting involved at this stage and later stages.
Curney Bank Commonwealth
We are converting our 33-acre ex-Forestry Commission plantation (purchased in 2000) to agroforestry or forest farming. We produce and sell free range chicken, pork, bacon and smoked duck. All livestock play an integral role in the management of the land, eg pigs root out existing weeds and prepare the ground for planting forage crops and trees. Wwoofers are welcome. Future We intend to purchase a farm and divide it into an appropriate number of smallholdings to form a commonwealth and build low-cost housing. Ownership of land and housing will be vested in the commonwealth. Prospective members must be able to…
Dandelion Community
Dandelion community will be an intentional cohousing community of people who prioritise connection with ourselves, each other, children, the natural world and our planet as a whole. We want to connect with nature by living in a rural area surrounded by wild spaces, woodland and water, growing our own vegetables and practising permaculture. Our community has a strong focus on families, while also appreciating the importance of multi-generational living. We understand that there is much to be learned from the free-spirited child, as well as the wise elder. We intend to co-teach our home educated children and support each other…
Earthlight Community
Although we are still looking for other members we have a strong core group of 6 people and are in process with business applications and are looking for suitable property in the mid Wales area. Some of us have property we will sell.We are looking for others to join us who would be able to bring some capital to the venture although this is not exclusively so. The main thing is to feel in tune with our vision.We would very much like to have some younger people join us as it feels important to have a wide age range. It…
Eco Village Cymru
We’re a group of people with a shared aim; to work together to co-create ecovillage / co-housing projects in Wales. We aim to share resources, and work to live sustainably, with the additional support that can be gained from living nearby to one another. Options for these projects include Community Land Trusts, and Co-operatives, although some of us are also looking into ‘Freeman’ eco-villages. One of the main ideas evolving from the North Wales meetings is a peace village project of ‘united diversity’, where, similar to the Sieben Linden Eco- village, groups of two or more individuals with land next…
Enlinca
Enlinca (Environmental Living In Cambridgeshire) is a group working towards the establishment of a (probably new-build) co-housing community with possibly 10-30 separate living units of varied size together with a central Common House and shared and personal outside space. We came together in 2000 and registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee in 2003 and currently have about 8 active members including 2 families. Our ages range from 4-70 Some of us have houses to sell and others rent property or have shared ownership arrangements. Our shared philosophy is to reduce our ecological footprint as much as we are able.…
Falmouth and Penryn Co-Housing Collective
We are looking for around 30 households in the Falmouth/Penryn area, singles, young couples, families, high flyers and retirees, the more diverse the better in our minds! Are you a person/family/household, who: is looking to find security and a place you can call your own without having to play the game of 'the property ladder'? or is already a homeowner, but sees that the solution to long term sustainable communities requires a shift in culture to how we provide housing and are looking to invest their equity in an innovative solution for future generations? Our core aims - Integrated into…
Five Rivers Cohousing
Set up in 2012, we have done a lot of background work and made many attempts at getting a site in Sheffield, from bidding at auction, to working with local housing associations, and so on. We had high hopes in late 2019 but that one also fell through when the developer pulled out. We did, though, get a grant from Homes England and have been benefitting greatly from the help of a professional Development Consultant. In early 2021, we are in renewed discussions with another developer about a site on the west side of the city. We are aiming for…
Freeriver
As of yet we are not living together, but we are working on it! Our intention is to offer a space for people to live in peace and find what is right and true for them. A place for people to reflect on life and feel their way. It will be a place where people can really be themselves, to live creatively, freely, openly and honestly. A place that welcomes and invites true expression and ‘realness’. A place where people can choose to live simply, with nature, cultivating their garden and watching the clouds drift by. When we find a…
Hazel Cooperative
We’re a group of weird and wonderful people, socially and environmentally minded young professionals (currently 4 of us but looking to expand) that are looking to buy a home together as a cooperative in the Oxford area. We’re not just looking for a house, we’re looking to build a home. A community of like-minded creative and ecologically focused individuals who want to nurture spaces for collaboration and community and personal reflection.
Hope Cohousing
Hope Cohousing is working to establish a small cohousing project in St Margaret’s Hope, Orkney, creating rented homes for older people who want to live independently within a supportive community. There will be five new eco-aware 2-bedroom houses, with an integral common house, internal street, shared amenities, a garden….and hens. Our vision is to create safe affordable homes as a lasting community benefit.
Kent Cohousing
Kent Cohousing are a group based in Kent with members located in various parts of the county. We are looking to create an intergenerational cohousing community in Kent, with low environmental impact, low cost homes, in an urban or semi-urban area. Our groups was established in 2017 and has been steadily growing ever since. We welcome new members who, like us, feel strongly about the need for an alternative way of living together as a community.
Lowfield Green Housing Co-op
We’re pioneering a model that will create sustainably built and permanently affordable homes while also allowing people to come together and create their own communities. Lowfield Green aims to create a strong community of people interested in finding a solution to the problems of traditional housing models. Lowfield Green will feature: Communal outdoor space and gardens; Plenty of secure cycle parking; Common house for resident shared meals and activities; Car, workshop, shed and tool share. Lowfield Green is for people: interested in new ways of living that create strong communities; with a York connection, especially Y024; who are first time…
Merseyside Cohousing
Our Vision & Values Merseyside Cohousing has new modified aims - we are essentially now a group of older single people, and we are very aware of the need for mutual support and companionship as we get older. We don't want to have a long and complex purchase, design and build process - we prefer to look for an old "merchants house" that we can eco-retrofit, and then maybe grow our community by buying further houses in the vicinity. Being old and/or single is not meant to be the only members we have, but it does describe the parameters of…
Nottingham Co-housing
Who we are • We are forming a group of people that are both intending to build Nottingham’s first intentional cohousing community, and to establish a replicable model that addresses the challenges. • We are also looking to get support from organisations and professional experts. What we want to do • To create a mixed intergenerational site: - of 20 to 40 households from 1 bed apartments to 4 bedroom houses. - that will deliver the needs of all life-stages from birth to death, so that individuals can stay in the community and be supported throughout their lives. - that…
Paradise Valley
We own 22 acres of woodland and pasture near Bromyard in Herefordshire and we are creating an ecological and personal growth community, living as self-sufficiently as we are able. We are four committed adults plus several regular participants who may or may not become long term residents. We are off-grid. We are managing our woodland in accord with a Woodland Management Plan we have agreed with the Forestry Commission and, in the long run, will use timber from it and clay from the earth to build our low-impact dwellings. We have a planning consultant working with us and we will…
Pont-y-Gafel
Pont-y-Gafel 'Bridge of Faith' is the farm that sold the land for the formation of the Lammas eco-village. We are currently exploring avenues by which we could open up the farm house and outbuildings for the development of a Christian intentional community. We have a mortgage to pay and would like to invite couples, singles or families of faith with capital to invest to join us, perhaps dividing ownership and keeping the ideals of the teachings of Jesus.
Project Q
Project Q is an emerging cohousing project; nothing is fixed at this stage other than: geographical area will be Southwest England (probably Cornwall); type of property will be farmstead/small country estate with land; an intention to align with the Quaker principles of truth, peace, equality and simplicity. Other aspects of the community are up for discussion and debate. A key aim is to help and support people through the climate and biodiversity crisis.
Prospect Permaculture Community
We are a group of like minded people who are setting up an intentional community based on permaculture principles. The community will be essentially land based with the aim of producing most of our own food and energy. We will earn our income from a wide variety of activities - as many as possible will take place on-site. Accommodation will be based on co-housing with dwellings that are largely self contained but sharing many facilities. We are looking to buy a property, a large house or farmhouse with land, which will be rural but near a village or small town.…
Ryedale Cohousing
As of now, developing a site on the edge of Kirkbymoorside with a builder. Looking at approximately 40-70 age group at the moment. Do get in touch soon if you are interested. Mainly private ownership, there might be one+ rental possibility.
Shangrileeds
Shangrileeds is a small, emerging co-housing group based in Leeds. Our aim is to develop an urban, intergenerational cohousing community within 4 miles of the centre of Leeds. We aim to create 10 to 20 homes (from 1 bed flats up to 4 bed houses) and a “common-house” which will include features for residents such as laundry, shared kitchen and meeting space as well as offering facilities for the local community. We hope to have a low impact on the environment subject to financial constraints and be accessible to people on modest incomes. The group has been meeting since 2011…
Still Green
Still Green are moving to Wolverton! Planning permission for a larger development of which we will be a part was submitted in early December 2020 by TOWN, the same developers who built the award-winning Marmelade Lane cohousing community in Cambridge. We are looking to move in during the later part of 2022, so please get in touch if you are interested in reserving your place. Twenty-nine 1 to 3-bed apartments, each with their own private outside area, and a shared 'common house’ will surround a south-facing courtyard garden. We are working closely with the landscape consultant on the design for…
Tortoiseshell Housing Co-op
We are Tortoiseshell Housing Cooperative and we need your help! Tortoiseshell intend to buy a smallholding and build six Passivhaus homes with shared facilities and gardens in the border region of South West England and South Wales. The project is a response to the ongoing housing crisis in the UK which is leaving people with no choice but to rent low quality homes on insecure contract terms. Community-led and self-governed housing is a perfect solution to this, however the current market is such that it is almost impossible for people on low and middle incomes to get a self-build construction…
Vivarium Trust
Vivarium came into being in 2003 as a result of a group of friends aged 50+ considering the problems which they were facing as they grew older, especially in relation to housing and to their ability to afford the sort of housing and community setting which would be appropriate in later years. They came across Co-Housing, were attracted by its key features, and have explored and developed their interest in Co-Housing since then. Vivarium has been holding open meetings since 2003, has around 25-30 members, and has an active steering group who work hard to push the project forward. Our…
