£390,000

A four/five bedroom maisonette, part of a co-housing community in the village of Laughton in the heart of the South Downs. Laughton Lodge is on the edge of the village and the property has the advantage of sharing 23 acres of community land with the possibility of vegetable growing, (allotments and poly tunnel,) lounging in the wild flower meadow, joining the horse club, walking in the woods, playing in the tree house, camping or enjoying a full size football field.

There is a large community building with kitchen and dining room, large hall for parties, rehearsals, a music room, a games room, and potential office/studio space, for your own private use as well as communal use. Lots of communal activities for adults and children, shared childcare, car sharing possible.

The village has a primary school and the secondary school is three miles away. Steiner Schools and the Dharma school are twelve miles away. There are lots of social events in the village and there is a lively, well-stocked village shop, Post Office and Pub. Brighton twelve miles, London 53 miles, trains straight to London from Glynde (3 miles away) Lewes (5 miles) Uckfield (5 miles) Glyndbourne 2 miles, surrounded by South Downs walks from the front door through bluebell woods up to the hills.

Getting started

The project began with one couple who had a vision of a different type of lifestyle. They did some initial research and gradually became aware of a wide spectrum of existing communities. Some shared much more than others, the most "communal" pooling all of their income, working together and sharing meals. Some were very isolated, whereas in others the majority of members had full-time jobs outside their communities. They wrote to and visited communities which seemed closest to their own idea of fostering a closer and more co-operative way of living with other people, while retaining some personal privacy. Each visit helped to shape their ideas and one particular community closely resembled the format they were thinking of. However, they found nothing that exactly corresponded to their ideas, situated within commuting distance from London, a necessary location if they were to retain their careers. They shared their ideas with some friends and a small group of interested people formed. This group met for a year, honing the ideas and documenting them. Five members of this group live at Laughton Lodge today, but it took 6 years to get there!

1. Memorandum and Articles

This is a Company Limited by Guarantee. All leaseholders are directors of the company. Associate membership is available for people not holding a lease for the property but being resident. Associate membership is available for prospective residents.

We spend a large amount of time and effort trying to improve the way we reach decisions. Here are some extracts of documents on consensus which we have found helpful.