The UK Co-housing Network, based in Lewes, has received a funding boost of £17,000, thanks to the Co-operative Fund.

The grant will enable the organisation to promote co-housing by acting as a one-stop-shop as well as strengthen the existing UK network.

A rapidly growing trend in the UK, co-housing is way of living which brings individuals and families together in groups to share common aims and activities while also enjoying their own self-contained accommodation and personal space.

Sarah Berger, from the UK Co-Housing Network, said: "We are really thankful for this funding as it will enable us to develop the website and further expand the network across the UK. The Co-operative Fund's support means we can increase the help we give to all those individuals and groups trying to set up their own cohousing schemes."

Kathryn Smith, Chair of the Co-operative Fund, said: "We are delighted to be supporting this valuable project which makes a difference to the local community and has co-operative values at its heart."

The Co-operative Fund is a grant making body. Its aims are to promote, support and develop co-operative solutions and co-operative enterprises, to expand the Co-operative Movement and to promote the co-operative advantage and demonstrate its relevance in the UK today.

For more information contact:

Lindsay Woodward
Senior PR Officer
The Co-operative
0161 827 5629

The cohousing idea is getting more attention on the other side of the planet: Australia only has one existing cohousing development, in Perth, but a recent symposium is hoping to change all that. The Sydney Morning Herald describes cohousing as:

... a group of privately owned dwellings where residents work together to enhance their sense of community, reduce duplication of resources and bring social and environmental gains to all.

Sydney's 'Living Cooperatively Consortium' has been promoting the idea - and local councils seem to be embracing it heartily:

Both Parramatta and Marrickville councils were heavily involved in a recent symposium on co-housing, mainly due to their interest in exploring more affordable ways to live. Through a research project with the University of Western Sydney, Parramatta Council is considering a pilot project that would turn a disused council property into a co-operative housing community.

Go Sydney! Perhaps some UK councils might one day follow suit...?

The new-look US Cohousing website describes cohousing as 'old-fashioned neighborhoods created with a little ingenuity'. It includes a cohousing magazine, with some very interesting articles. One, by Charles Durrett, asks 'what's the difference between Danish and US Cohousing?' If you're thinking about getting involved in cohousing in the UK, this article - and the US website in general - has a lot of food for thought. A feast, in fact.

The fate of older people in British society is rising up the political agenda. This week, Gordon Brown launched New Labour's call for a 'fairer care system'. The government predicts that a quarter of the UK will be over 65 in twenty years, and the number of people over 85 will double.

A recent opinion piece by Julia Neuberger in the Daily Mail laments the way our society treats its older people, and notes that cohousing is one possible answer to the question, 'what is all this extra life *for*?' Gordon Brown seems to have taken on board that people don't want to pour their equity into the pockets of a nursing home. Cohousing is clearly a way for older people to invest in their own continued independence. The mutual support inherent to cohousing could also save the state a huge amount of money. Has senior cohousing's time come?

Brighton Cohousing are steaming on ahead; there's a Newsletter with the latest details, which you can access via Brighton Cohousing's news page.

Note especially the upcoming open meeting on Sunday 4th May from 2 - 5pm (venue to be confirmed - check the Brighton Cohousing website.)

You can contact Brighton Cohousing via their website.

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.

Alison Benjamin at Guardian Unlimited, Friday December 14 2007

Britain's biggest housebuilder is to build England's first eco-village, the housing and planning minister, Yvette Cooper, announced today.

Barratt has won the bid to create a new community at the site of the former Hanham Hall hospital near Bristol, which has been commissioned by the government's national regeneration agency, English Partnerships.

The village is expected to be built in three years' time, ahead of the government's 2016 target, when it wants all new homes to be zero carbon. The onsite biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant will deliver energy to all 200 homes.

Read more at the link above.

DfCLG 'Roundtable' discussion on Cohousing Communities of older people and the National Strategy for Housing an Ageing Society, October 25 2007

At the end of October this year, a 'roundtable' discussion on Cohousing and the National Strategy for Housing and Aging Society was held at the Dept for Communities and Local Government (DfCLG), under the sponsorship of Baroness Kay Andrews, parliamentary under secretary of state. This discussion was organised by Maria Brenton in conjunction with the department and was a last-minute substitute for a wider symposium that the UK Network had hoped the department would sponsor. It was squeezed in to the departmental timetable days before the impending reshuffle at the end of June this year, as a holding action against the possibility of Baroness Andrews being reshuffled. She is well-disposed towards cohousing, having toured the Community Project last year and is also responsible for issuing the 'Housing Strategy for Older People' in autumn this year. Fortunately, she stayed in post.

Methodology

(a)Membership Re-opened: After a thorough piece of work on our joining and membership processes we are pleased to once again invite applications for membership. Currently we are seeking 10 new household members interested in 100% leasehold properties. In December and January we are inviting 20 of our existing enquirers interested in full purchase to two Introductory Meetings.