Our vision

We plan to create a cohousing community in West Yorkshire, for people who want a co-operative and self-responsible life style for their later years. Our community will support members to grow older together, to "age in place" safely and enjoyably. The community will include 12 - 20 homes with shared facilities such as a large dining room, recreation areas, laundry, workshops and gardens. There will be a strong emphasis on environmental sustainability.

We want to engage local people's interest and involvement in the LifeTime project, so that we remain part of the wider community. We will be a model of a supportive and accessible age-in-place community, encouraging other older people to consider such projects for themselves. We shall raise the profile of this kind of housing project with policy makers and service providers

What is cohousing?

Cohousing is a type of collaborative living that was first developed in Denmark during the 1970's. It combines the benefits of private space with the advantages of shared resources. Individual homes are clustered around a community building where members regularly socialise. The residents organise and participate in the planning and design process, and manage daily community business. Every member owns at least some share of the community's property

What we are planning to build

The LifeTime Community Project will provide individual homes for its members and a central shared space to meet, eat and enjoy life together. Our preference is to build from scratch but we will also consider renovating an existing building.

Each home will, as far as possible, reflect what its resident wants and can afford. There will be a range of affordable tenures - full ownership, part ownership, and homes for rent. The properties must be energy efficient and have low environmental impact.

When the need arises, we intend to buy in shared services such as cleaning, personal care and gardening.