FROME COHOUSING GROUP
Winter Newsletter
December 6th, 2011
SUMMARY OF THE AGM OF FROME COHOUSING CIC
30TH OCTOBER 2011

Greetings co-housers!

Twenty-three people attended the first AGM of the Frome Cohousing CIC and a very positive gathering it was to.
The CIC is a Community Interest Company, not for profit, where each member has a vote. Attendees included CIC members, as well as non-members who have shown an interest in Frome cohousing. The meeting was chaired by Tim Cutting, one of the three CIC directors.

There are currently 23 members of Frome Cohousing and at the end of the meeting 4 new people joined. New members need to be nominated and seconded by existing members which puts the emphasis on potential members getting to know existing members. For the same purpose, it was suggested that members should start organising social activities. For example, over the past few months, brunches have been held at the Garden Café on the last Sunday of the month. The brunches were originally publicised to just CIC members and then to the wider mailing list. Further dates for brunches need to be decided, as well as other social activities.

There is a steering group that works on behalf of the membership and currently comprises 7 people – Tim Cutting, Ric Swann, Jo Hanstead, Chrissie O’Keefe, Mick Dunk, Lisbet Michelson and Nick Ray. Members were invited to express interest in serving on the steering group, although no additions or changes were considered essential at this time. However, members with financial and/or legal experience/expertise will be particularly needed once a site is secured. At that point, it will have to be decided how best to legally structure the site’s organisation; this could be the existing CIC or something else (e.g., a housing cooperative).

A general discussion to define what exactly is meant by the term cohousing resulted in a statement of the following broad principles:
The members have a say in how it is created.
The needs and stated purpose of a particular group of members will decide the type of site needed (e.g., self-sustainable, mixed age and demographics).
Outreach is usually part of the remit of a cohousing venture and on-going involvement by the wider community would be part of its aim.
This was followed by a presentation of existing cohousing developments around the world to pull out the common threads. The classic model is clusters of dwellings around a shared space, with communal facilities in a separate building, private gardens, and parking at the edge. It was noted that a long site by a river would demand a different layout. The presentation also included potential sites already explored by the steering group in and around Frome.

After a tea break, attendees divided into small groups to conduct a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) of different sectors of Frome, using large maps. The measures included distance from train station, buses, main roads (noise), and character of surrounding housing. Reporting back, the groups noted that there are few large unused areas in Frome, most is high density housing already. However, there are quite a number of old industrial sites and buildings that are already, or about to be, unused. Some areas that are currently park or green spaces are quite steep, but if they were available, they could create interesting architecture for cohousing, even if not of interest for a standard development.

Final discussions focused on attracting investment versus working with a housing association, and criteria for selecting residents. Two steering group members are currently working on an application form based on the Threshold Centre’s process and experience. It was noted that the current CIC membership does not include a very wide range of ages, and that a vibrant group needs diversity. However, it is likely that a diverse range of people will be drawn in once Frome cohousing becomes a physical entity. Finally, everyone was urged to actively look for potential sites, and a proposed logo was displayed with the invitation to pass comment.

Tim Cutting contact t…@cutting-energy.co.uk (click on three blue dots for full address)

FROME COHOUSING GROUP NEWSLETTER
March 2011

Despite rather little contact from us – for which apologies – we have made progress on several fronts which we want to let you know about now. There is now a well functioning steering group with seven members meeting about once a month.

Community Interest Company
We have a Community Interest Company (CIC) set up and also now a bank account opened with the Coop Bank. So we have now reached the point when we will ask those of you who feel sufficient commitment to become paid up members of the CIC. Membership is open to those actively interested in becoming a resident in a future co-housing scheme in Frome, and also to anyone who simply wants to support the CIC, but is undecided at this stage as to their long term involvement. Our newsletters will continue to go out to all the current recipients (including those who do not become members of the CIC), but if you no longer wish to receive it please reply to this email asking to be removed from the list.

The subscription of £15 or £5 concession per household will go towards covering the costs of administering the CIC, which has to keep proper accounts even though the costs are not expected to be very great at this stage. The subscription is hopefully a one off but we may need to review this as the co-housing project develops.

The membership of the CIC shows a commitment to the co-housing group & covers administration and venue costs and gives you a say in future developments. All CIC members will be liable for £1.00 only in the unlikely event that the CIC gets into financial difficulties. For an application form please contact tim[at]cutting-energy.co[dot]uk

Meeting up and paying subscription
Please bring your completed form and subscription fee to the next big meeting which will be held on Sunday 27th March 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm upstairs at the Lamb pub at the Gore Hedge roundabout. This meeting will generally be a Q&A session on Cohousing and the CIC and to discuss the next steps. If you can’t attend the meeting, please post your form and subscription cheque (payee Frome Cohousing CIC) to:
Frome Cohousing CIC,
c/o Tim Cutting
83 Nunney Road
Frome
Somerset BA11 4LF

Visit to Threshold Centre
We have arranged a group visit to the Threshold Centre at Gillingham, Dorset on May 8th from 11.00-3.00 for a shared lunch and a Q & A session with some of their residents who have the experience of bringing a co-housing scheme to reality, with all the ups and downs that this involves. Please bring vegetarian lunch to share. The Q&A session is free but the Threshold Centre welcomes donations. This visit will be for limited numbers & is a members only event. Please contact info[at]johanstead.co[dot]uk to confirm your place. Please visit their website for information including courses on cohousing

Sites in and around Frome
We have been exploring possible co-housing sites in or around Frome and have held preliminary discussions with two developers that we are following up. At this stage we cannot be more specific about sites because there are sensitive planning issues and uncertainties that we are not able to share but we can say that we feel positive and encouraged by our meetings.

We look forward to seeing many of you at the meeting on Sunday 27th March.

Best wishes from the steering group – Clare Hein, Chrissie O’Keeffe, Jo Hanstead, Lisbet Michelsen, Nick Beaumont, Ric Swann & Tim Cutting (February 2011)

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(from 2009)
Frome Co Housing Group held its first meeting in the Autumn of 2009 at which we shared our ideas, hopes and experience of Co Housing. Amongst the ideas that emerged from this was a desire to have a wide range of ages and backgrounds in the residents. To this end we would expect to work with a housing association to include an element of social housing and shared ownership if a site of the appropriate size is available.

We are therefore at a very early stage and at our next meeting we will begin to develop an organisational structure and legal framework for the group. We are also exploring potential sites and development partners within Frome and so the size and extent of the development is still to be decided. We are therefore open to interest from new members both within Frome and from further afield who would like to join us in this delightful community.

For those who don’t know Frome is a small market town (pop: 26000) in a beautiful part of Somerset with a thriving sustainability group and a very active network of artists of all kinds.

If you’re interested, please contact tim[at]cutting-energy.co[dot]uk (click on 3 blue dots to get full email.)