Kennet And Thames CoHousing

KATCH members It all starts with people…

Key Aspects of Cohousing

• Private homes and shared facilities

• Village-sized development

• Intentional neighbourhood design

• Neighbourhood managed by residents

An Example Cohousing Site

• 2.5 acres• 33 dwellings• common house• business units

Shared House and Facilities

Standard

Kitchen

Dining room

Living room

Large flexible space

Laundry

Desirable

Workshop

Office space

Store room / shop

Children/Teenagers room

Meeting Hall

Guest rooms

Springhill

“The street” & common house

Trudeslund, Denmark

Layout

Courtyards & pedestrian

streets

Common house centrally

placed

Patios & clustered

houses

Woodland

Cars on edge

Social life

No lack of privacy!

Store & Laundry

Dinners & Childcare

Sailing boat!

Lawn mower

Initial impetus: “Social network to provide more support for the nuclear family”

33 families

(built 1981)

Why Cohousing?

• Feeling safe and connected

• Good neighbourly support

• Attractive shared space

• Onsite shared activities - planned and unplanned!

Benefits of Cohousing

1. Social Sustainability

• Site design facilitates community spirit

• Optional meals in common house 3 or 4 times a week

• Residents empowered through self-management

• Informal support between residents

• Quality of Life

• Safe environment for all

2. Environmental Sustainability

•Reduced travel and car use

•Reduced energy use

•Reduced waste

Our group visit to Sussex – the biomass boiler

•Environmentally friendly build

•Self-build option for the adventurous

3. Benefits to wider community

• Good neighbours

• Provision of local facilities and activities

• Engagement in local life

• A route to enabling local people to stay in area

• Provision of affordable and sustainable housing

4. Affordable

• Low living costs

• Resource sharing

• Reduced travel

• Affordable housing under a variety of tenures

www.cohousing.org.uk

• Information & Support

• Networking

• Events

• Drawing together expertise

Cohousing in the UK

Up and running

• Springhill, Stroud

• The Community Project, Sussex

• The Threshold Centre, Dorset

(Some projects are new-build, others refurbishments)

Projects in the pipeline

•Lancaster – build in progress

•London Countryside Cohousing

•Bridport

•LILAC (Leeds – site now purchased)•Oxford Cohousing

•KATCH

Springhill, Stroud

Lancaster Cohousing

Autumn 2011

“We are now preparing the site for our Cohousing project with private homes, community facilities, workshop/offices and shared outdoor space”

Our team and network

• Partnership with Aster Housing Association

• Links with UK Cohousing Network

• Architect member, Jean Murphy

• Sustainability consultant

• Support from– West Berks Housing Officers– MP Richard Benyon

Our possible KATCHment areas…

Considerations:

West Berkshire’s LDF

Connectivity

Our wishes

KATCH can provide a housing scheme with…

• A sustainable model

• An attractive and innovative neighbourhood

• A low-impact settlement

• Community cohesion

We are looking for a location where there is a wish for…

• A housing model that aims to work in partnership with the local community

• A development whose ethos is a known quantity

• A development that is innovative, sustainable, and builds community

And finally, some scenarios…

Cohousing can be:

•Stand-alone, or part of a larger housing scheme•New-build, or part use of existing buildings•Include a self-build option•Flexible and sensitive to surrounding area, as future residents part of design process•A good answer on an unusual site

Thank you for listening

Any questions?

www.katch.org.uk

admin@katch.org.uk

McCamant and Durrett