Homes for Oxford - local residents addressing housing issues in the city - are proposing a unique development for the Wolvercote Paper Mill site. Incorporating state-of-the-art design, permanent affordability and long term social and economic sustainability, this development will contribute to the well-being of its residents, to the village and to the city beyond.
Permanently affordable homes on the Wolvercote Paper Mill Site Presented by Fran Ryan, Deborah Glass Woodin and Ruth Layton. 25th May 2016
Homes for Oxford Proposal
1
Š Homes for Oxford 2016-17. All rights reserved. Cover artwork: John Lewicki, Transition by Design. Graphic Design: Ryan Howe, Monchß.
2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY / INTRODUCTION WHO WE ARE Executive summary: Taking inspiration from Amsterdam, Freiburg, and innovative developments in the UK, Homes for Oxford offers a vision worthy of the city of dreaming spires: a new neighbourhood that will be beautiful, equitable and sustainable. We aim to secure this key site for homes for local people that will be genuinely affordable in perpetuity, alongside market housing - all configured to promote green lifestyles and neighbourly support. We believe this proposal offers a good financial return to the University of Oxford and unparalleled social value to Wolvercote and the wider community. Introduction and vision in a nutshell: Homes for Oxford (HfO) is a recently formed alliance of local community-led housing organizations, combining their expertise to combat the housing crisis in Oxford. We are Homes for Oxford Proposal
delighted to be working in conjunction with Bioregional to make a highly innovative and sustainable bid for the Wolvercote Paper Mill (WPM) site.
See Appendix 1 for more details on projects that have inspired us to make this proposal: Vauban in Freiburg; Lilac cohousing in Leeds; Springhill cohousing, Stroud; and BedZED. References will be made to all four in this proposal.
If successful in the bid, HfO intends to build 190 mixed tenure homes, half to be permanently affordable. We intend to build a further 70 intermediate market homes. To encourage neighbourliness and mutual support the homes will be built in clusters, reflecting the traditional college quad design. The site will be largely pedestrianised with cars kept to a minimum (less than .75 per household) and parked on the edges of the site. There will be some office space and a regular bus service. Once the homes are built the land will be transferred to and managed by a Community Land Trust. The Land Trust will be run by residents, local villagers and professional experts.
3
ABOUT THE BIDDERS Homes for Oxford (HfO) Homes for Oxford consists of four organisations each of whom brings expertise and financial assets to the opportunity of the WPM. Further details on page 12. Oxford Community Land Trust (OCLT) is committed to creating permanently-affordable homes in the city and county, and has built up considerable capacity, networks and know-how in this approach. Land is held in trust by the local community and cannot be sold, thus separating the land value from the cost of the homes and making them affordable. OCLT also promotes low car use. Oxford Cohousing (OCH) wish to develop a cohousing project with a community of up to 35 households. Each household has their own home and a share in common facilities such as meeting and eating space. The homes will be mixed-tenure and high-density. The community will be socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. Carsharing will be a key feature.
priced out of the housing market in Oxford. They are aiming to purchase the equivalent of two 4 bedroom homes to run as an intermediate-market housing coop. The final member of the HfO group is the Happy House Project who propose to house four generations under one roof for mutual growth, support and fun. Bioregional Bioregional is an international sustainable development charity, working with partners around the world to create better places for people to live, work and do business. Bioregional brokered the partnership that delivered BedZED, a pioneering eco-village in South London. They developed the One Planet Communities network of 11 exemplary communities around the world showing how a sustainable future can be.
Kindling Housing is a coop of young professionals 4
About the Bidders
UNIQUE ASPECTS OF THIS BID 1. Community–led Although fairly mainstream in Northern Europe (for example Baugruppen in Germany), communityled building is in its infancy in the UK. The current government is keen to support it and a number of successful projects have been delivered in England in recent years (Springhill, Lilac etc). With over 190 homes, the scale of this proposal will make it a first in the UK. 2. Community-owned land for permanent affordability HfO has a strong commitment to ensuring the affordable homes remain affordable over time so there will be no Right to Buy. This will be enabled by the Community Land Trust owning the land, and by setting up cooperative tenancies for all the leaseholders. 3. High percentage of intermediate-market housing Our communities cannot thrive without key workers and lower paid workers, most of whom do not qualify for the housing register. HfO therefore aims to have 90 intermediate-market homes for such workers Homes for Oxford Proposal
approximately a third of the homes. 4. HfO motivated by social not financial gain This bid aims to ensure a fair deal for all: a fair price to the land owner, and fairly priced homes for future residents. HfO does not need to satisfy a high expectation for shareholder return: this enables us to compete with more conventional approaches. We also offer open books to the vendor and intend to share any surplus with them at the end of the build. 5. Innovative design, a first in the UK, award winning This proposal offers a radically different approach to the conventional development model where the emphasis is on standardized units with limited community interaction. This proposal draws on the custom-build movement and raises it to a new level: designing for community, mutual support and wellbeing from the start. We will build to a higher density to preserve as much of the green space as possible. 6. Site layout and design 8 clusters of about 32 homes each will form the basis of the community. Cars will be kept to a minimum and
will be confined to car parks at the edge of the site. A bus will come into the site with a turning circle and bus stop within walking distance of all homes. Streets will be for pedestrian and cycle use only and for emergency access. We are keen to identify new cycle routes to link the development with the new Oxford Parkway station and the centre of Oxford. 7. Housing clusters There will be two mixed-tenure cohousing clusters whose residents will each have their own homes but share a common house including a dining room and kitchen for community gatherings. The common house will include spare bedrooms and other shared facilities, enabling residents to have smaller homes. Six other clusters will have a mix of tenures including housing coops and self-build/self-finish. All the homes will be managed cooperatively. 8. Floating homes HfO wants to embrace all the opportunities offered by the site including the water. We will build 13 floating homes on the Mill Pond and aim to provide moorings on the Mill Stream. 5
UNIQUE ASPECTS OF THIS BID 9. Nixey’s Piece HfO wish to purchase Nixey’s Piece in order to work together with Wolvercote villagers to maintain the whole area largely undisturbed with occasional community access. Mutually beneficial projects could include: planting a belt of trees across the north of the plot, to provide screening from the noise and air pollution of the A34; developing a belt of coppiced woodland and horticulture that will enhance the wildlife habitat. 10. Other public space, woodland and waterways There will be office/workshop space. A GP surgery will be included if needed, Management of the waterways and woodland will be undertaken by the CLT in order to ensure access for the benefit of the residents, the local community and the city.
6
Unique Aspects of This Bid
Homes for Oxford Proposal
7
Development highlights Land held in Trust Clusters of co-operative homes sharing tenure and waterways Variety of sizes, types and tenures promoting mixed communities 50% of homes permanantly affordable Zero carbon homes across the site Reduced parking with integrated transport strategy Renewable energy generation beyond statutory requirements Higher density housing delivers greater house numbers Extensive car-free green space & amenity space
Design & layout - key features Clusters respond to the site characteristics
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Floating homes on lake Culvert exposed as key feature of cohousing cluster Community buildings including office space shared with villagers Promenade and boardwalk facing lake Building heights limited to three storeys Layout adheres to Greenbelt boundaries Energy centre delivering renewable heat and power to homes
Green space and biodiversity 9. Private outside space (garden balcony or roof space) for each home 10. New ‘green’ at the site entrance connects to existing village green, White Hart & Red Lion pubs
Public square facing reservoir
11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
Edible planting & borders throughout the site Existing trees retained & hundreds of new trees planted Nixies Piece held in Trust for biodiversity and/or food production Allotments and playspace
Community & employment facilities 16. Public pavilion on square facing lake - 100sq.m 17. Community & commercial space includes business hub - 850sq.m 18. Shared workshop & live-work space - total 300sq.m
Parking & access Entrance in line with Highways guidance from Oxford City Council
19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26.
14
25
Bus stop - access restricted to community area All homes within 200m of bus stop Single spine road for cars Maximum one parking space per household Secure cycle storage for every household Parking pushed to the edge of each cluster creating car-free zones Provision for ten car club spaces at the community centre
Homes for Oxford - Clusters 23
C1 - Oxford Cohousing 01 C2 - Custom sale C3 - Mixed: City Council + Shared Ownership + Open market + Key worker
22
24
C4 - Happy House Co-op 2
13
C5 - Self-build quarter + Kindling housing Co-op
1
C6-10 - Mixed: City Council + Shared Ownership + Open market + Key worker
5
C11 - Oxford Cohousing 02 12
C12 - Oxfordshire Community Land Trust
Total:
260 dwellings
238 car park spaces
20
16
7
11 18
6
4
Oxfordshire Community Land Trust
9
17
C12
3 15
26
Oxford Cohousing 02
8 10
Mixed Affordable + C10 Open market
C11
C8 19
Mixed Affordable + Open market
C9 Mixed Affordable + Open market
C6
C7
Mixed Affordable + Open market
Mixed Affordable + Open market
Self build & Kindling Co-op C5
C3
Oxford Cohousing 01
Mix 01 - Homes above community space
C1
Happy House Co-op C4
Custom sale C2
N
0
100
Project:
Wolvercote Paper Mill OPAL Scheme
Client:
Homes for Oxford
Site Address:
Wolvercote Paper Mill, Wolvercote, Oxford
Status:
Bidding Document, May 2016
Drawing:
Indicative Site Layout
Scale:
1:1000 @ A1
NUMBER AND MIX OF HOMES Offer 1- 190 Unit Scheme The proposed mix for this scheme is broadly in line with assumptions taken from the existing Masterplan and Outline Planning layout. Unit Type
no
Size m2
Affordable housing - Shared Equity
1b flat
40
45
6
2b flat
52
67
5
2b house
11
75
2
3b house
50
82
4
3b townhouse
12
87
2
120
0
4b det. house 25 Totals:
190
19
The affordable housing proposals are in line with Oxford City Council Supplementary Planning Guidance in terms of overall numbers, tenure and mix. 80% of the affordable housing will be Social Rented, let at target rents. Intermediate tenure units will be a mix of Shared Equity sale set at 50% of market values, 8
and some Shared Ownership with 25% initial sale proportion. Offer 2- 260 Unit Scheme This mix is based on a new masterplan developed by Transition by Design and utilises some of the space freed up by reduced car ownership. Unit Type
no
Size m2
Affordable housing - Shared Equity
1b flat
40
45
19
2b flat
50
67
23
2b house
30
75
10
3b Flat
45
75
19
3b house
70
87
22
4b house
25
110
-
260
90
Overall the affordable housing complement totals 66% which exceeds the 50% policy requirement. However this assumes that a significant number of the additional affordable dwellings are low-cost-purchase
key worker dwellings. This means that the proportion of “intermediate” tenure dwellings is higher than policy. We believe that a strong planning case can be made for this in the light of the additional overall provision of affordable housing, the provision of “affordable in perpetuity” 50% sale homes, and the emergent policy in line with the Housing and Planning Act which will introduce Starter Homes into affordable housing legislation. Most of the affordable housing on both offers will be delivered and managed within individual co-op clusters and will be retained as affordable in perpetuity. We have an in-principle agreement that the newly formed Oxford City Housing Company will act as affordable housing partner (Registered Provider) to Homes for Oxford, and will take on and manage 28 Social Rented and 7 shared ownership dwellings as part of the overall affordable housing mix.
Number and Mix of Homes
BENEFITS OF THIS PROPOSAL How our development best benefits Wolvercote residents As residents of Oxford, HfO know the area well. We are familiar with what is loved about the village, and with residents’ concerns about the potential impact of development. Some HfO members participated in the public consultations about the WPM in 2013. We are now working closely with villagers, particularly members of the Commoners and Neighbourhood Forum, to ensure a sensitive development. We recently held a standing-room-only public meeting to share our plans. We offer an innovative and community-focused proposal for this long-deserted, neglected industrial site, that will open it up to face the neighbouring community and offer access to its natural environment. Our proposals significantly address many of the concerns of Wolvercote residents, because they: • • Homes for Oxford Proposal
Reduce the number of cars (from 382 to 190 or 240) Provide permanently affordable homes some
•
of which we aim to ring- fence for people with connections to the village Offer community space that includes a work hub (for home workers) affordable workshops, a nursery and a food hub. We have noted that the village may not need an additional GP surgery and almost certainly does not need a new village hall.
How our development best benefits the University of Oxford • Immense social and environmental returns • A huge reputational benefit as this will be an exemplary development unprecedented in the UK, combining state-of-the art ecological sustainability, 100% community engagement, and directly addressing a core chronic problem the city of Oxford and University face – the lack of permanently affordable housing. • Housing for key workers: HfO aim to provide an additional 70 homes some of which could be developed or managed in conjunction with the university • Several unique research opportunities in: • Flooding and climate change - an
•
•
opportunity to research and implement flood-resilient housing and flood protection Energy generation/fuel poverty – every home on the site is built for zero emissions, with energy generating capacity. Across the site there will be ground-source heat, solar and hydro-electric generation. Everyone on site will benefit from low fuel bills in perpetuity. Care in the community and ageing population: the communal nature of the built environment and the extent of shared space are expected to promote neighbourly behaviour and well-being, and lead to savings in public expenditure on both physical and mental health. Research could investigate the level to which these aims are achieved and offer guidance for similar developments in the future.
9
ONE PLANET AFFORDABLE LIVING We are working with Bioregional and Transition by Design to develop a more exacting set of standards for low-carbon communities which enables not only sustainable lifestyles but which also provides genuine affordability. This is an extension of Bioregional’s existing One Planet Living Framework which has been successfully implemented on eleven residential projects to date.
Zero Carbon Sustainable Transport
Affordability based on local incomes Communities leading the process and controlling the outcomes Housing not returning to open market and no Right to Buy (RtB) Delivering at scale facilitating purchase of large sites Financially viable and self sustaining Ability for occupants to earn equity from the scheme
10
Zero-carbon buildings using a Passivhaus approach to combat fuel poverty. HfO will have Solar Thermal and PV and hydroelectric energy generation to meet their intention of making the site capable of being off grid. Residents in the HfO development will ensure low car use on site. HfO aspire to 0.5 to 0.75 cars per household, facilitated by car clubs and sharing. Bus on site. Pedestrianisation and cycle routes throughout. Plans for a new cycle route linking the site and village with Oxford Parkway and Oxford city centre. HfO is committed to delivering genuine affordability: there are more intermediate homes in our 260 mix at 50% of market rate. A good start but we aim to improve on this. HfO is a community-led group and the vision is to retain community control of the whole site. The perceived risk of working with a community group will be minimised by employing a highly experienced project manager. HfO will use the Community Land Trust model and co-operative leases to ensure there is no RtB. This means the homes will be affordable in perpetuity. Which in turn means the community can remain open to those even on low incomes. This site is a sufficiently large scale to be capable of being an exemplary scheme for affordable housing and offers an excellent opportunity to deliver on zero carbon aspirations. HfO aims to make an offer that is attractive to the vendor and viable to the partners. We favour an open book arrangement where we can work with the vendor to anticipate and avoid areas of complexity, to ensure financial targets are met and exceeded so that there is a surplus to share. This is currently an aspiration.
One Planet Affordable Living
PLANNING AND DELIVERY HfO’s approach to planning and delivery can be summarised as follows: •
•
The bid consortium will act as the client and master developer of the scheme. HfO will prepare the design and planning brief for the detailed scheme and appoint a single project manager (Pete Halsall) who will manage our delivery partners and professional team on our behalf. HfO will work with a small number of contractordevelopers to design and construct specific parcels of the detailed scheme. Partners will be asked to fund or part-fund construction on the basis of a mix of hard and soft pre-commitments to acquire completed development, with the contract structured accordingly.
Unlike more speculative housing developments, community-led housing is developed by and for established groups with members who are already informally committed to purchasing a home in the completed scheme: many are also willing to commit financially as soon as development is confirmed. This reduces the sales and programme risk to development and may allow the construction period to be Homes for Oxford Proposal
compressed. The community-led nature of the bid also reduces the risk of planning objections. HfO will fund the land purchase through a mixture of donations, loans and deposits from future residents and already has sufficient funds at its disposal to cover the deposit. Once agreement to buy the land has been secured, HfO can raise further funds from a variety of sources to fund detailed design and planning and then the build phase: • • •
•
Soft loans from residents and supporters Grant funding from the Homes and Communities Agency Custom Build fund Grant funding from various sources. For example charitable foundation Power to Change, which has £150m of funding to support community businesses, is exploring a community-led housing programme. Following an initial discussion with Rose Seagrief, Programmes Manager, the HfO proposals for the WPM site appear to be a good fit for the vanguard projects that the programme is seeking to fund. Bridging during the build phase from build
• •
partners Early presales especially from cash buyers Borrowing secured against the land (HfO members have links with Charity Bank, Triodos and other finance houses)
Proposed Timeline Planning application submitted
7th December 2016
Planning permission
7th April 2017
Tender preparation
7th July 2017
Contractors appointed
7th September 2017
Practical completion
7th September 2019
We have many other factors in our favour to ensure delivery of the plan: massive support from local people in Wolvercote, the backing of many others in the city, amongst them council officers and members and many at the university who live and work in the city. We have the passion and we won’t give up. 11
THE ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED / PARTNER CREDENTIALS Homes for Oxford members: Oxford Community Land Trust (OCLT) is a Community Benefit Society registered in 2006 and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with charitable status. It is committed to creating permanently-affordable homes in the city and county and has built up considerable capacity, networks and know-how in this approach. OCLT have an option and planning permission for six affordable rental homes for people in housing need on a site in Dean Court, Botley (in Vale of White Horse District Council). Having been on the point of registering as a Registered Provider (RP) with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) in March 2015, and with almost ÂŁ1m of funding in place, OCLT hit an unforeseen legal problem and had to put the project on hold. After a year of negotiating involving, amongst others, the Charity Commission, OCLT aims to re-start the project in 2016. OCLT has a strong board and excellent governance arrangements. It has also built up good relationships with various finance houses, including Charity Bank, 12
Triodos, CAF Venturesome and Resonance. Most recently, because of the now exceedingly difficult funding environment for affordable homes with no capital grant available, it is working closely with potential partners to i) create a new fund to receive donations for permanently affordable homes in Oxfordshire and ii) a community share offer for the same purpose. It is currently seeking land particularly in Oxford city to build permanently affordable homes for local people.
substantial proportion of permanently affordable homes. They already include members who would be eligible for social housing. Despite the challenge of achieving affordability with Oxford land prices, they recently submitted a competitive open-market bid for the Stansfeld site in Headington which included 50% permanently affordable homes. The only reason they lost out was because another bidder was able to make an unconditional bid (not conditional on planning permission).
Founded in 2010, Oxford Cohousing (OCH) is an active group of about 25 local people with a further 100 or so on their mailing list. They aim to secure a site to develop a cohousing project with a community of up to 35 households. The homes will be mixed-tenure and high-density, and within the Oxford ring road. The community will be socially, economically and environmentally sustainable. Car-sharing will be a key feature: it will allow innovative design of the site, and put less pressure on access routes than is usual in current housing developments.
As most of the group are already mortgage-free home-owners in the city they have access to capital to enable them to unlock a site.
OCH differs from many existing cohousing projects in their commitment to inclusivity, and plan a
Kindling Housing Co-op is a housing co-operative incorporated in 2015, which launched a Loan Stock investment opportunity in February 2016 and is actively looking for a large house to buy in Oxford. The co-operative consists of a network of 20 individuals currently living, working and privately renting in Oxford who wish to take control of their housing situation and create a secure, affordable, low-impact, collectively owned and managed home together. The Organisations Involved
Kindling has been established not only to house its current members but to also build a new network of housing co-ops in Oxford that will provide a safe, stable and supportive environment for generations of politically and socially active individuals. The Happy House Coop proposes to house four generations under one roof for mutual growth, support and fun. The motivation for the project came from a group of friends looking to have a joyful retirement. The project evolved to include people of all ages. After many years of research it decided on a model of self-contained flats around communal areas.
Bioregional developed the One Planet Communities framework in 2005. Rooted in the methodology and metrics of ecological and carbon footprinting, the ten One Planet Principles stemmed from Bioregional’s experience of working on BedZED, a pioneering ecovillage in South London, UK.
One Planet Communities go beyond just simply green buildings to encompass the provision of sustainable infrastructure, products and services. At the outset of developing a One Planet Community, all stakeholders including architects, neighbourhood groups, planning authorities and retail partners together agree a set of shared goals and targets. Evidence from One Planet Communities around the world demonstrates that they can be delivered and very competitively in their market; construction costs are within the typical range, whilst units sell faster and at a premium.
One Planet Communities deliver best practice in high-quality, value-added sustainable living. There
Bioregional have a proven track record in Oxfordshire, working with Cherwell District Council and
Bioregional
Homes for Oxford Proposal
are 11 endorsed One Planet Communities around the world, spread across four continents. Countless other developments have used the ten principles of One Planet Living to inform decisions in design, construction and estates management. Using the One Planet Living framework, project teams are given high-level sustainability targets to achieve whilst also having the flexibility to identify the opportunities and constraints presented by development sites, resulting in an optimised and bespoke solution.
A2Dominion on the NW Bicester Eco Town since 2010 http://www.bioregional.com/nw-bicester/ Bioregional co-developed 200 apartments at One Brighton as summarised here: http://www. bioregional.com/one-brighton/
13
MANAGEMENT AND DELIVERY TEAM Pete Halsall. Project Manager
David Alcock. Legal
Jimm Reed Finance Manager
Described by Building magazine as ‘Britain’s most committed green builder’, Pete Halsall is a visionary sustainable developer who is a director of the Good Homes Alliance, a multi-disciplinary collaborative network of sustainable housing developers and housing specialists. As former MD and co-founder of BioRegional Quintain he was responsible for zero carbon developments in Brighton, Middlesbrough and London. Pete is a member of the Tarmac Group sustainability panel, a Fellow of the Leeds Sustainability Institute, a member of the National Energy Foundation advisory council and a consultant to Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board)
Anthony Collins Solicitors – community led housing
Jimm, a qualified PRINCE2 practitioner, brings longstanding experience of housing project delivery in the affordable and private sectors. Jimm is also one of the leading professionals in the field of cohousing in the UK, having been the project manager of the successful LILAC project in Leeds (www.lilac. coop), and subsequently working with a number of cohousing groups around the country.
14
Anthony Collins Solicitors is a law firm based in Birmingham with a leading role in the community led housing movement, and a long term commitment to community led estate regeneration. We have supported numerous CLTs and umbrella bodies on setting up and governance, land acquisition and development, mechanisms for ensuring long term affordability, and relationships with partners (including housing associations). The team is led by David Alcock, partner at the firm who leads our work with community organisations, social enterprises and co-operatives. He is a specialist in governance issues in the third sector, and is also at the forefront of developing new mutual models of delivering public services.
Management and Delivery Team
DESIGN & BUILD PARTNERS Neil Murphy, Director, Town. TOWNhus Neil is a former senior Treasury policy advisor and local government regeneration strategist who, while at Beyond Green, became planning director responsible for securing planning permission for a major sustainable urban extension to Norwich. He has worked with Trivselhus on a range of projects since 2012 and is development managing TOWNhus’s part in the Commissioner’s Quay project in Northumberland; and his role in this project will combine lead responsibility for planning matters and local planning authority liaison with co-ordination of the design and construction elements of the programme. Neil holds an honours degree from the University of Oxford. Jonny Anstead, Director, Town. TOWNhus From his early career at Locum Consulting (later Colliers CRE) and later at Beyond Green – where Homes for Oxford Proposal
he was instrumental in the company’s transition from sustainability consultant to developer and led the land acquisition, funding and planning phases for a number of major schemes – Jonny has built up considerable experience and expertise in the management of complex development projects, large and interdisciplinary teams and clientdeveloper- landowner relationships. Jonny holds a first-class degree from Cambridge University and is a professional member of the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community. Transition by Design Co-operative CIC (TbD) is an architecture practice that specialises in communityled housing and low carbon design. TbD takes a collaborative approach to working with multiple partners to deliver the most creative and appropriate responses. Recent projects include the development of an innovative new housing model with Bioregional Development group, entitled OPAL, a masterplan for a 36 home zero carbon development in Headington for Oxford Cohousing Group and the Project Management of a multi-million-pound localised energy project in Rose Hill, east Oxford.
White Design is an innovative and award winning chartered architects practice and sustainability consultancy. They have specific experience relative to the WPM development which includes the development of CoHousing projects including the multi award winning LILAC project in Leeds a 20 home development . ModCell is one of the first products to make largescale, carbon-negative building a commercial reality. ModCell utilises the excellent thermal insulation qualities of straw construction to make low-carbon, prefabricated external walls, roofs, floors and internal partitions. ModCell is the only straw building system that has been certified to allow ‘high street’ mortgages to be secured for housing. The most recent CoHousing projects include the multi award winning LILAC project in Leeds a 20 home development. (http://www.lilac.coop) and the upcoming 64 home Vallis Road, project in Frome and 41 home Ermine Way project in Bristol. 15
APPENDIX ONE: INSPIRATION Lilac http://www.lilac.coop/
Springhill http://cohousing.org.uk/group/springhill-cohousing
BedZED http://www.bioregional.com/bedzed/
We are the UK’s first affordable ecological cohousing project: a community of 20 households and a common house, based in Bramley, West Leeds. We are a pioneering and award winning project. Pedestrianised, zero carbon passive homes. Permanently affordable. If we win the bid the founder of the Lilac Coop will be working on the development with ModCell.
Springhill Cohousing is near the centre of Stroud in Gloucestershire. It is the first new-build cohousing scheme to be completed in the UK. There are 34 units, ranging from one bedroomed flats to five bedrooomed houses. There is a three-storey common house with a kitchen where meals are cooked and served three times a week - other shared meals and communitybased social activities happen there too. Springhill Cohousing has been “recognised by The Deputy Prime Minister’s Award”: for making an “outstanding contribution” to Sustainable Communities. “The pedestrianised ‘main street’ meanders around the site parallel with the contours, creating a characterful village feel”.
Bedzed is the UK’s first large-scale, mixed use sustainable community with 100 homes, office space, a college and community facilities. Completed in 2002, this pioneering eco-village in south London suburbia remains an inspiration for sustainable neighbourhoods and our One Planet Living Communities across the world. It is also Bioregional’s
Vauban https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vauban,_Freiburg Vauban is a neighbourhoos to the south of the town centre in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as “a sustainable model district” on the site of a former French military base. 16
Appendix One: Inspiration
APPENDIX TWO: SUPPORT FOR THE BID “The innovative Homes for Oxford proposals for the Paper Mill site address some of the key issues for the city, in tackling the desperate need for housing with a wide range of different tenures. I wish them well, and would encourage the University to take account of both economic and social factors in coming to a decision on the sale of the site.” - Cllr Bob Price, Leader of the City Council “I hugely welcome Homes for Oxford’s bid to develop Wolvercote Paper Mill. Their innovative and exciting bid shows that Oxford can create attractive and genuinely affordable homes. And what are the alternatives - a private housing sector that can’t or won’t deliver affordable homes and a Government that’s declared war on social housing? The Homes for Oxford solution based on community land ownership - offers a beacon of hope in the midst of the city’s worst housing crisis for a generation.” - Councillor David Thomas, Green Group Deputy Leader, Oxford City Council “CPRE wholeheartedly supports the right houses in the right place, and this development perfectly fits the Homes for Oxford Proposal
bill. It would make good use of a centrally located brownfield site, employing sustainable design principles and providing much needed permanently affordable housing. We would be delighted to see this Homes for Oxford proposal come to fruition.” - CPRE Director Helen Marshall and Chair Sietske Boeles “This is an excellent proposal: just, sustainable and rational. The housing market in Oxford is becoming ever more exclusive, and creates an ever less diverse, habitable and compassionate city. The trend will continue until projects of this kind happen. I strongly support this bid.” - George Monbiot HfO has considerable support from local residents. The following statement received 168 likes within two days of being on the village Facebook page on May 23rd 2016: “Villagers and village organisations engagement with the future of the site over many years has shown that the key issues for most people are: • The need for permanently affordable housing in
• • •
• • •
the village – people who have grown up here or lived here for much of their lives despair of their children ever being able to afford to live here The need for appropriate accommodation for older people and those less able to care for themselves The desperate need for a variety of small-scale workspaces in the village The preservation of the woodland area at the north of the site, the belt of trees between the site and Home Close, the existing flora and fauna, and the watercourses Sustainability, environmental soundness, and the potential for energy generation and food production The amount of traffic generated, and possible pressure on parking in existing streets The effect on existing infra-structure and flooding risks.
We are confident that the HfO bid, if successful, would lead to far better outcomes for the village than any other possibility, in all these areas.”
17