If you want to be part of the conversation and process going forward please join us at the next meeting which is Wednesday 27th April 6pm at GCDA’s offices . Please email sergio@gcda.org.uk
The housing crisis for young people, families and those in housing lists in London is mentioned by everyone as the one single most important issue facing a large proportion of Londoners.
GCDA are also concerned and are ready to support an initiative that is part of the local strategic framework. This is why at our 33rd AGM of the 10th March we had a workshop on housing as a contribution to the local debate and perhaps the seed for a new initiative in the not too distant future.
The workshop benefited from the participation of two superb participants: Josef Davies-Coates of United Diversity and Kareem Dayes from RUSS.
Josef is an experienced member of the co-operative movement in London. He was able to tell us his experience as a member of Sanford Housing Co-operative www.sanfordcoop.org one of the strongest housing co-ops in London that have provided many innovations including in-house workshop space, generation of sustainable energy and supporting other co-operatively run housing initiatives with resources and experience.
Also, he explained the development of Community Land Trusts as a viable alternative to unreachable values of property and land in the capital. The model is simple: establish an organisation such as a society for the benefit of the community, obtain a long-term lease for land and build houses in a range of uses from social housing to share ownership and even straight ownership. The land remains the property of the Community Trust, which allows for building costs to be reduced by 30% to 50% of its market value.
Kareem referred very specifically to the experience he has lived with Russ (Rural Urban Synthesis Society) www.theruss.org for the past few years. RUSS is a volunteer-led Community Land Trust based in South London, founded in 2009 with the aim of creating sustainable neighbourhoods and genuinely affordable homes. They are developing a scheme of 33 new sustainable, high-quality homes amongst shared
Open space at Church Grove in Ladywell, Lewisham. The project, which is planned to start construction in January 2018, offers self-build opportunities for local people. As GCDA, RUSS is a charitable society for the benefit of the community and The project will create a mixed community made up of people from diverse backgrounds.
The development will include one-bedroom to four-bedroom homes, available on a range of tenures including social rent, affordable rent, shared equity and shared ownership. It will include properties aimed specifically at providing training opportunities through the construction of shared flats for young people. The specific mix of properties and tenure will be tailored to suit the mix of residents that come forward for the scheme. People interested in the project will be able to get involved in the self-build process – and learn new skills – regardless of their skill level at the outset. RUSS is now working with Lewisham Council to finalise the development agreement and lease this year. RUSS’s project team will facilitate the members, local community, neighbours and the council to bring forward a sustainable design. The target for starting on the site is spring 2017 to (or “intending to”) completing by 2020.
After the presentations, there was great interest from those attending the meeting requesting further details and coming to the conclusion that GCDA should initiate a consultation with the community and key stakeholders including the Council as a way to reciprocate a Community Land Trust in Greenwich.
If you want to be part of the conversation and process going forward, please join us at the next meeting which is Wednesday 27th April 6 pm at GCDA’s
If you want to be part of the conversation and process going forward please join us at the next meeting which is Wednesday 27th April 6pm at GCDA’s offices . Please email sergio@gcda.org.uk
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