Understanding cohousing in the UK for the 21st-century

It is appropriate that this piece on Cohousing in the UK is being prepared for a continental periodical, as the original development of contemporary Cohousing neighbourhoods in Northern Europe remains a source of great fascination and inspiration to many who wish to extend such success into the UK and who are always interested in knowing what particular mechanisms might exist in other countries to support new projects. The wider context for how and where new community-centred projects could be realised remains a much-debated issue in the UK, and there are always wistful glances at any different rate for this to happen in other countries. Only approximately 10,000 properties out of the UK’s 24 million dwellings are collectively owned or managed by the ‘mutual housing sector’ (which include co-operatives, land trusts, Cohousing schemes, self build projects, and others...). While the current time is about the most optimistic for new UK schemes to be pushed forward, there is a constant awareness of the obstacles that groups have to face here in finding the suitable land and finance to make their schemes happen

The crisis of housing supply: the role of urban extensions

This paper looks at the contribution that is planned from sizeable extensions to existing urban areas to the current under-supply of UK housing and raises questions as to whether or not new supplies can be increased in a meaningful manner when the timetable of such work is to be left in the hands of private sector developer

UKCN / NESTA policy seminar briefing: policies, roles and tasks required in undertaking ‘cross-tenure’ cohousing development

A policy discussion document for the UK Cohousing Network, considering what aspects of housing and design policies need to be considered that can add impetus to the promotion and development of new cross-tenure cohousing neighbourhood

ESRC Tensions and future prospects Briefing Note 4: Thoughts on opposition to new housing development

A summary of views from local communities on perspectives for and against new planned housing development, and a brief commentar

ESRC “Tensions and Prospects for Sustainable Housing Growth - a case study of Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes" interim report October/November 2012

Formal Interim Report of first year to this ESRC research project into the planning and delivery of 'sustainable housing growth', particularly in the case study part of the MKSM are

CBC Housing and Homelessness Strategy 2014-19

Housing and Homelessness Strategy prepared for Corby Borough Council to cover the 2014-19 period

Another take on UK house price inflation

There are mixed responses to signs that the UK’s housing market is recovering from the 2007-08 depression: anxiety in some quarters about what rising housing prices and costs mean for a growing number of households, and satisfaction in others for the resilience being shown by a ‘free’ economy. With those thoughts in mind, some brief suggestions are offered on what might be feasible as a deliberate approach to fostering a reduction in UK house values and subsequent market ‘sale’ prices, over and above any public ‘hopes’ that prices might fall if there was to be a significant amount of new house-building – a ‘classic ‘economic tenet that a suitably-supplied market will exert a deflationary pressure on prices. There seems a distinct naivety (or wishful-thinking) that the current interests responsible for building any new abundance of properties will, by themselves, bring that about at such a speed to exert a real check on house prices – one should imagine not, if that might also depress a growth in profits – or that this would be sufficient to address the underlying market failure

Assessing the impact of current residential development processes on the fragility of the UK housing market

This paper looks at the data being produced on recent falls in residential property values around the UK, and turns attention to establishing links between this picture and key drivers behind UK residential development processes, both from the national policy perspective of the government’s calls for improved land use and for minimum densities, and from perspectives of the residential development sector that has been so prominent in responses to wider regeneration and ‘growth’ agenda

Is there a cogent argument to make for seeking a deliberate reduction in UK house prices?

A structured argument for why it can be of positive benefit to consider setting limits to certain open market house sales in the UK, in order to check the worst effects of 'market failure