With the creation of the new North Yorkshire and East Riding Community-Led Housing Hub, this organisation acts as the focal point for all enquiries regarding Community-Led Housing. In addition, the website has a vast amount of resources to help for those considering starting a Community-Led Housing project. To find out more use the website link. www.communityledhomesnyer.org.uk
Community-led Housing in East Yorkshire
Our aim is:
- To promote Community-Led Housing as a viable housing delivery option with tangible and non-tangible benefits to all potential residents, communities and partners throughout the East Riding
- To provide a point of contact through the CLH Hub, with information and support for the development of all forms of community led housing
- To help deliver workshops and activities to interested communities
- To develop a pipeline of Community-Led Homes throughout East Riding, the majority of which would be affordable homes to enable the sustainability of rural and market town communities, and support existing services, to create new opportunities.
What is Community-Led Housing?
Community-Led Housing involves people and communities taking the lead in providing their own housing solutions, creating affordable, sustainable, high quality homes that remain in perpetuity for the community. It helps people develop new skills and knowledge and builds resilient, confident communities.
Community-Led Housing comes in many different forms – there are no standard, off the-shelf approaches, but they can include:
- Community Land Trusts providing affordable homes for local people in need – for rent or shared ownership – by acquiring land and holding it as a community asset in perpetuity.
- Housing co-operatives involving groups of people who provide and collectively manage, on a democratic membership basis, affordable homes for themselves as tenants or shared owners.
- Cohousing schemes involving groups of like-minded people who come together to provide self-contained, private homes for themselves, but manage their scheme together and share activities, often in a communal space.
- Tenant management organisations providing social housing tenants with collective responsibility for managing and maintaining the homes through an agreement with their council or housing association landlord. You can find out more about the right to manage here.
- Self-help housing projects involving small, community-based organisations bringing empty properties back into use, often without mainstream funding and with a strong emphasis on construction skills training and support. Here are 3 great examples of self help housing organisations: Latch, Canopy and Giroscope.
- We interviewed the managing director and an employee from Latch for our podcast series, Communities building homes. You can listen here.
- Community self-build schemes involving groups of local people in housing need building homes for themselves with external support and managing the process collectively. Individual self-build is not regarded as community led housing. You can find more out more about self and custom build here.
To learn more about Custom and Self-Build housing please see
Regardless of which form the project takes, there are three main principles that Community-Led Housing adheres to:
- The community is included in all key decisions and involved throughout the development.
- The community takes a long-term formal role in the ownership, stewardship or management of the homes.
- The benefits of the project to the local area and/or community group are clear and legally protected in perpetuity (ie. with no end date).
We can help you through the process to develop a scheme which suits the needs of your community or group.
Community-led Housing delivers community benefits:
- Keeps family networks together, reducing social care bills
- Enables key workers to live close to work
- Supports rural businesses, with local customers and workforce
- Helps to keep village schools, pubs, shops and Post Offices open
- Cuts spending on Housing Benefit
- Improves health and wellbeing and saves the NHS money
- Improves social mobility and leveling-up
East Riding of Yorkshire Council can provide funding through the Community Housing Fund to support these types of developments. Humber & Wolds Rural Action provides a Community-Led Housing Advisor to any group who wishes to see these types of homes built in their community.
Anyone can start, volunteer and deliver a Community-Led Housing project. You don't need to work in Housing, have a degree in Architecture or be a Builder. If you think a change is needed, you can lead it.
Heron Educational Foundation based in Humbleton, 10 miles east of Hull, are now building two 3 bed semi detached homes on land they own and are about to start the refurbishment of the Old Schhool and Headmaster's House in Humbleton, owned by the charity. These buildings will prove 3 x 2 bed cottages and1 x 4 bed house and hope to be completed by the end of 2022. See pictures below.
For an informal chat or to find out more about the project and how it could help your community, please contact Peter Hirschfeld - Community-Led Housing Advisor at Humber & Wolds Rural Action. Email peter.hirschfeld@hwrcc.org.uk or ring 07539 477046.
The following is a youtube video produced by Rural Community Council of Essex and ACRE, who like Humber & Wolds Rural Action, are part of the ACRE Network. The video shows the impact of Community-Led Housing on those who live in the affordable homes provided. It is called Roxwell Affordable Housing Scheme, Essex. Their area maybe different from ours, but it shows what can be achieved by small rural communities who work together to help their residents who are in housing need. Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ri_eA7Gir8A
The following support is also available for groups interested in Community-led Housing:
Community Right to Build grants to help you get community-led housing proposals to planning
Using Neighbourhood Planning to look to the future of your area which can include Community-Led Housing.
Heron CLH Homes starting in Humbleton
