Testimonials

Community-led Housing in East Yorkshire Parishes

Humber & Wolds Rural Action are working in partnership with East Riding of Yorkshire Council's Housing Department to offer support to communities and groups who are interested in providing a variety of affordable homes to satisfy demand in their community.

What is Community Led Housing?

If you thought house building was just for 'professionals', think again!!

Community Led Housing is a growing movement of ordinary residents taking action and managing housing projects that build decent and affordable homes that their community needs.

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.

Community Led Housing offers something for everyone

• For people on a range of incomes
• For specific groups of people
• For people who want to rent or buy
• For groups wanting to build new homes or refurbish existing buildings

What it is & what it isn't

Community Led Housing is where:-

• Open & meaningful community participation and consent takes place throughout the process
• The community group or organsiation, owns, manages and stewards the homes in whichever way the community decides
• The housing development is of true benefit for the local community, a specific group of people (an intentional community) or both. These benefits should also be legally protected in perpetuity.

Community Led Housing is not about:

• A token consultation
• Bog standard housing development

The six main features are:-

• They put local people in the driving seat - you decide where homes are built, what they look like and decide how local people are selected for the homes provided.
• You create community assets which can generate income for your town or village to support other local partners.
• They are usually small scale - most developments are less than 10 homes and some are much smaller. No two developments are the same.
• Although most schemes are usually set up and run by local people in their own communities, many are also supported by housing associations, local authorities or regional and national organisations.
• They provide affordable homes for rent, shared ownership, sale or self build sites that are often difficult or even impossible for mainstream housing providers to develop.
• Schemes meet long-term local housing needs, by the community exercising full control over how and where the homes are provided and retaining a legel and/or financial interest in them, ensuring they will be available to local people who need them and at a price they can afford.
• Community Led Housing is not for profit, involving considerable voluntary effort from those who decide to become involved. It is an effort that several hundred communities across the country have already made, with many successful developments initiated by Parish and Town Councils.

If your community is facing any of the following issues, community-led housing could be for you.

• young people struggle to get on the housing ladder because house prices are too high, or there simply are not enough smaller, more affordable homes available
• older residents want to downsize, but can’t find the right kind of properties without moving many miles out of the area
• those in need, such as unemployed people or single parents, have very little chance of finding decent local houses in which to live
• reasonably priced family homes are in short supply
• developers are not building the kind of homes people want or need
• there is a long waiting list for council housing
• you have a motivated community group in place or are about to create one.

Support from HWRCC comes with funding from the Community Housing Fund to help get projects off the ground and to proivde assistance to form Community Led Housing groups. Peter Hirschfeld will provide help with setting up community groups and support with community consultations to evidence demand. To hear more about this new project, please contact Peter Hirschfeld on 01652 637700 or email peter.hirschfeld@hwrcc.org.uk

Additional support is available through:-

The following help is available for groups interested in Community-led Housing:

• Community-led Housing: Key resources kit
• Toolkits
• REACH - CLH Website
• Community Led Homes
• Parish Council guide to Community Led Housing
• Chartered Institute of Housing - Community involvement in rural housing development 
• grants to help you get community-led housing proposals to planning permission stage
• a straightforward way to achieve planning permission without needing to ask your local authority, through Community Right to Build
• using Neighbourhood Planning to look to the future of your area.

Make an enquiry