An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Make our vision a reality
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We will be delivering a new, replicable model of CommunityLed Housing that will benefit people currently unable to access housing on the open market. Kareem Dayes Founding Chair, RUSS
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Contents
01 Executive Summary 06 Background 09 Vision and Objectives 11 Why Community-Led Housing? 17 The RUSS Model 21 Pilot Project – Church Grove 27 Structure and Governance 33 Plan for Growth 37 Managing Risk 39 Volunteers and Donors 40 Supporters 41 Media Coverage
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Across the UK and Continental Europe more and more communities are taking control of their housing needs. And in the process they’re delivering tailor made homes that are more affordable, more sustainable and that people really enjoy living in. Richard Bacon MP Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group that promotes Community Led-Housing
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01 Executive Summary
Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS) is a dynamic, rapidly expanding community-led organisation that will soon be building one of the most innovative affordable housing schemes ever seen in the UK. RUSS obtained planning permission for its first £8.6m project – at Church Grove in Lewisham – in June 2018. The 33 sustainable, highquality, low-cost homes are expected to start on site in 2019. RUSS wants to create similar genuinely affordable sustainable community-led neighbourhoods right across London. It will do this by capturing the knowledge gained on its pilot project and then supporting other community organisations who want to progress similar developments. The organisation was set up as a response to the chronic lack of affordable homes in London; RUSS believes that new homes can be much more sustainable, and that the residents of the homes can play a big role – inputting on the design and contributing to the way they are delivered, to help keep costs down. RUSS’s first project is on a one acre site in Lewisham – it was selected by the local council in 2016, and it will lease the land on a peppercorn rent for 250 years. RUSS has set itself up as a Community Land Trust, as this is an effective way of guaranteeing the homes will remain affordable in perpetuity. Good progress has been made with the pilot project, with almost £1,500,000 already secured in grants and loans to fund the work to prepare the detailed planning application and to cover the post-planning costs.
A top team of technical consultants and specialist financial advisors has been recruited, and the corporate finance team is confident the project will secure funding from leading social investors. RUSS has robust management processes, a strong governance structure, over 800 members and volunteers, and a well-qualified Board of Trustees. Over the next two or three years RUSS is keen to establish a School for Community-Led Housing, so that it can pass on its knowledge to other organisations. It also wants to run a community arts programme linked to its Church Grove pilot project. RUSS recognises that it needs to undertake its activities in such a way that all potential risks are identified in advance, and then well managed and mitigated. It has therefore drawn up a sophisticated Risk Register that is reviewed and updated regularly. There is now a huge groundswell of support for Community-Led Housing initiatives, and strong backing from Government too.
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An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
02 Background
The Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS) was set up by the direct descendants of a Community-Led Housing initiative that delivered two highly acclaimed housing projects in London in the 1980s. These projects enabled ordinary people to build their homes using a technique developed by architect Walter Segal. The residents designed the lay-out of their homes, according to the needs of their lifestyle, and undertook most of the construction work themselves. The 1980s projects resulted in homes that were affordable, adaptable, upgradeable and still loved by their occupiers today. And because the schemes were delivered by people working alongside each other, the residents didn’t just create homes for themselves, they also created two really supportive neighbourhoods. RUSS is now building on this legacy by replicating and updating the model for the 21st century. Across the rest of Europe hundreds of innovative Community-Led Housing projects have been constructed in recent years. In some countries this approach to new housing has now become a ‘mainstream’ way of delivering homes. For example, in Berlin, one in six of all the new homes constructed in 2014 were organised and commissioned by collectives of local people. The popularity of Community-Led Housing is growing in the UK, with a string of pioneering projects delivered in places like Bristol, Leeds, Brighton, Lancaster, Stroud, Barnet, the north of Scotland and rural Wales. There are now scores of other similar projects in the pipeline. RUSS was set up in 2009. It has grown from a small group of friends meeting around a dinner table to an organisation with over 800 members.
It is now formally constituted as a Community Land Trust, and registered as a Community Benefit Society with official charitable status. The organisation has a skilled board of Trustees and it retains a team of expert consultants to help it manage its activities. RUSS has made excellent progress as an organisation – securing almost £500,000 to enable it to hire architects, finance experts and other specialist professional consultants to prepare its planning application for its first project in Lewisham. It has run several training workshops to help other groups to progress their own Community-Led Housing initiatives. The organisation has also secured its first pilot project. In 2016 RUSS was formally selected by Lewisham Council to redevelop a one acre site in South London. In 2018 the project was granted planning permission, and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, awarded RUSS a Housing Innovation Fund grant of £988,000. Construction work on an innovative scheme of 33 sustainable, high quality, low-cost homes is due to start in 2019. The Council has offered RUSS the land on a 250 year lease, with a peppercorn rent.
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Photo: James Drew Turner, The Guardian
Walters Way – Lewisham
Photo: Taran Wilkhu
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We are absolutely thrilled we’ve taken this next significant step towards creating great new genuinely affordable housing in Lewisham. RUSS builds on Lewisham’s radical housing tradition. Cooperative housing provides affordable homes, forever, and we’re looking at how we can build more. Damien Egan Mayor of Lewisham
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03 Vision and Objectives
RUSS’s vision is to create sustainable community-led neighbourhoods and truly affordable homes right across London. The members of RUSS agreed the main principles that have shaped the vision statement and informed the organisation’s core objectives.
These principles include a commitment to delivering socially, environmentally and economically sustainable neighbourhoods where the residents and the local community play a key role in designing, procuring, delivering and managing the homes. RUSS is committed to the creation of genuinely affordable homes, to enable Londoners on modest incomes to rent or buy a property. In addition the properties will be built from sustainable materials and they will be exceptionally energy efficient, so the running cost of a RUSS home (and its carbon footprint) will be much lower. All RUSS housing projects will work to develop strong links with the local community, and will provide facilities for their use. RUSS will seek to reflect the local population, with a mixture of properties for families, couples and single people – both young and old, and across a range of incomes and backgrounds.
RUSS’s three Core Objectives To
build an effective organisation to enable RUSS to support a range of housing projects across London with the right expertise, skills and staff, and a sustainable income
To
demonstrate the model by delivering a pilot project of 33 affordable homes in Lewisham. The scheme will then support RUSS so that it can facilitate other projects across the city
To
raise awareness of the value of Community-Led Housing and exchange knowledge to enable other communities to develop similar projects. RUSS has established a School of Community-Led Housing in pursuit of this objective.
Every project that RUSS undertakes will be financially sustainable, and will be delivered in a professional, proven, transparent and cost effective way.
Architype Architects
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The housing crisis is the single biggest barrier to prosperity, growth and fairness facing Londoners today. Sadiq Khan Mayor of London
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04 Why Community-Led Housing?
RUSS is a response to the lack of affordable housing in London and to the threat presented by climate change. It’s also an opportunity for local communities who feel disconnected from the political sphere to get together and shape the future of their neighbourhoods.
Making housing affordable
Addressing climate change
London is one of the most expensive places in the world to secure a roof over your head. Rents can be astronomic and, for people on lower wages, housing costs now typically consume two thirds of their incomes. Homes in the capital are also fiercely expensive to buy; the average London home costs more than £600,000 – twice the UK median. London’s rents are also more than twice the UK average.
According to a study by the Royal Institute of British Architects half of all global resources go into construction, and 45% of the energy we generate is used to heat, light and ventilate our buildings.
The UK Government has recognised that Community-Led Housing has the potential to help alleviate the acute shortage of affordable homes, and it also believes this form of housing can improve the standards of design, specification and energy performance. The latest housing strategy that Lewisham Council has prepared also recognises the role Community-Led Housing can play in addressing the current shortage of social and affordable homes in the borough.
RUSS believes high performance new homes can significantly contribute to reducing the impact of climate change. It therefore wants all its properties to be super-insulated and fitted with appropriate renewable energy systems. Its neighbourhoods will also include water capture for irrigation and space for residents to grow their own vegetables.
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Empowering Communities People who commission their own homes create more cohesive and friendly communities. A recent study by Exeter University analysed a Community-Led Housing project in Bristol and compared the residents’ Quality of Life indicators with those for the city as a whole. The research revealed that people who lived in or adjacent to the housing development had a wider circle of friends and contacts, trusted their neighbours more and felt no fear of crime. The residents also felt they were more empowered to influence issues at a local level. Studies of people who have been involved in commissioning their own homes indicate they live in them for much longer than the average new home buyer, and they generally play a much more active role in community activities.
National and local policy that supports Community-Led Housing The Government is supporting organisations and councils that are developing innovative approaches to Community-Led Housing. In 2016, new legislation was introduced requiring every council in England to maintain a Register of individuals (and groups of people) who want to build or commission their own homes, and tens of thousands of people have already put their names forward. A new Government-endorsed Expert Task Force has also been launched to help boost the number of new homes built this way. As a result of this growing awareness and Government support there are now more than 900 community organisations actively planning to build their own affordable housing projects.
Quality of Life Assessment, 2012 Bristol City as whole
The Yard, Ashley Vale self-build community
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10
%
I can trust people locally
I can influence decisions
Fear of crime affects my life
I am satisfied with my local area
Number of friends and acquaintances
Source: Exeter University and Ecomotive
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An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
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Case Studies – UK
Older Women’s Co-Housing (OWCH), North London
The Broadhempston CLT, Devon
Lancaster Cohousing
Headway Self-Build Group, Walthamstow
Self-Builders, Bristol CLT
Findhorn, Scotland
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An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Case Studies – UK and Europe
Community-led new builds, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Ecologis, Strasbourg, France
TĂźbingen, Germany
Springhill Cohousing, Stroud, UK
LILAC, Leeds, UK
Vauban, Freiburg, Germany
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Case Studies – UK and Europe
Berlin, Germany
Hamburg, Germany
Hedgehog Housing Co-op, Brighton, UK
Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands
Collective Eco-Housing La CanopĂŠe, Bayonne, France. Photo: Vincent Monthiers, Mathieu Choiselat
Self-Builders, Ashley Vale, Bristol
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Self-build is empowering, enriching and damned tough at times. We don’t yet have much of a culture for doing it in the UK, but that’s changing. RUSS is a pioneering group that has, unusually, grown out of a powerful self-build culture in Lewisham. They deserve every ounce of support. In fact, they deserve to be cheered on. Kevin McCloud, MBE Author, Broadcaster and Designer
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05 The RUSS Model
On all its projects RUSS will provide a range of affordable homes to meet the local community’s needs. Homes will be custom-designed to match the residents’ requirements, and available across a range of tenures – social and affordable rent, or for sale through shared ownership or shared equity. RUSS delivers genuinely affordable homes in a number of innovative ways. One of the key decisions it has taken is to set itself up as a Community Land Trust (CLT). RUSS homes are constructed on land that is managed by the RUSS Community Land Trust. There are now more than 200 CLTs up and running in the UK and, between them, they are expected to build thousands of new affordable homes by 2020.
How do CLTs work? Most new homes have two big cost elements – the cost of constructing the home (the labour and materials), and the cost of the ‘land’ on which the home sits. With homes that are built on a site that is owned and managed by a CLT the ‘land’ element is usually much less than normal.
In addition to lower land costs, RUSS is able to make its homes more affordable by exploiting the latest procurement and construction techniques, and by actively involving its residents in the process where this saves money and adds value. So, for example, by exploiting pre-fabrication and offsite construction techniques RUSS residents may be able to assemble the wall panels more cost effectively than a conventional supplier. Many of the homes could be provided as ‘self finish’ units, giving residents the option to reduce their costs by taking on some of the finishing jobs such as kitchen fitting, decorating, landscaping and tiling. This approach has been proven to significantly reduce the cost of a new home. The hundreds of volunteers RUSS has among its membership are also keen to undertake appropriate construction tasks to help keep the costs down.
This makes the homes significantly cheaper. It also means that if a RUSS resident needs to move, and has to sell their home, the value of it will be less than that of an equivalent home. This is because the value will be based mainly on the value of the building; not the building and the land. Consequently a RUSS home will always be much cheaper than a similar property, so someone on a modest income will always be able to afford it. Photo: Graziano Milano
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An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Sustainability
Training
RUSS projects are designed to be genuinely environmentally sustainable with ultra-low energy requirements. They are also designed to be socially sustainable by providing shared community hubs where people can choose to cook and eat together, and organise community events.
RUSS provides training to its future residents and its volunteers so they can develop their skills and undertake any tasks that are required of them. The organisation also aims to provide opportunities for apprentices seeking certified training in construction.
Co-design Residents have little or no say about the design or layout of their homes on most new housing projects; on RUSS schemes the opposite is true. RUSS actively encourages its residents and people from the surrounding area to work with its architects, cost experts and community facilitators to collectively input on the design of the project. This input is usually facilitated by a series of workshops that then leads to an agreed design that can be built within a viable, set budget.
Robust financial modelling RUSS works with Triodos Corporate Finance to develop a clear financial model for each project. The model sets out the viable budget for each development and highlights when finance is required, where it is coming from (usually a mixture of income from the sale of units and loans from social investors) and it generates cash flow forecasts to ensure that the project does not go into deficit. The model enables RUSS to check that the residents themselves will be able to afford their homes. Assessments are carried out by the Parity Trust, a charity that helps people on low incomes into home ownership. These assessments match each proposed resident’s needs with their ability to raise a deposit. The assessments ensure the residents can sustain mortgage repayments, rents or other housing costs such as bills, service charges and council tax. The model is sensitive to a range of assumptions and has proven to be invaluable in helping RUSS devise a solution that is viable, achievable, fundable and still affordable for residents.
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Photo: Graziano Milano
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Photo: Graziano Milano
Illustration: Students, School of Architecture, The University of Sheffield
Sustainable carbon build footprint
Community–Led
Low
Guided
Highly
Homes
Landscaped
Community
insulated lowenergy design with food growing and green spaces
Flexible
customisable homes 10% larger than London Plan size
by members and local community co-designed with residents
Volunteers
the project
spaces
help deliver
Affordable Mix
of tenures including shared ownership, shared equity and social rented
Homes
affordable in perpetuity
Rent
and service charges below London average
Self-build options as ‘sweat
equity’ to reduce costs
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The Church Grove project is a model that guarantees the long-term provision of affordable housing and the best value use of publicly owned land. It’s a real version of the big society in action, and an example other local authorities would do well to follow. Oliver Wainwright Architecture and Design Critic, The Guardian
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06 Pilot Project – Church Grove
RUSS expects to start building its first pilot project in 2019. This will be a £8.6m pioneering 33-home affordable neighbourhood on an attractive one acre site in the heart of Lewisham. RUSS was selected (via a competitive process) by the local council to undertake the project and signed a development agreement in 2016. Planning permission was granted in June 2018. When building work starts RUSS will also be granted a 250 year lease. To get this far has cost £450,000 in professional fees and other legal and management costs. RUSS volunteers have already secured nearly £300,000 in grants, and loans of almost £200,000, to meet these costs. The knowledge and information RUSS has accumulated through its first project can be adapted and used again, so pre-development costs will be lower on future developments. Working with Triodos Corporate Finance RUSS is confident it can secure the loan finance that will be required from a portfolio of social investors to pay for the construction of the homes. When the project is complete in 2021 most of this will be repaid by the residents via the mortgages they secure to purchase the equity in their homes. A long-term loan will be required to cover the shortfall, and this will be paid off over 25 years from the income generated by the properties that are for rent. The 33 homes range from one to four bedroom properties. Fourteen of the homes will be available on a shared equity basis (where the residents will purchase 80% of the value); 12 homes will be shared ownership (here the residents can buy between 25% and 80% of the value); six rooms across two shared homes will
be for affordable rent, and five dwellings will be for social rent (with the occupiers nominated by Lewisham council). Once the project is complete it is estimated that RUSS will retain equity worth between £2.6 and £3.2 million (the exact figure will depend on how much equity the residents end up purchasing). This equity be used to help secure funding for future projects across London. Dwellings Shared Equity 1-bed – 80% sale
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Shared Equity 2-bed – 80% sale
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Shared Ownership 1-bed – 25-80% sale
1
Shared Ownership 2-bed – 25-80% sale
4
Shared Ownership 3-bed – 25-80% sale
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Shared Ownership 4-bed – 25-80% sale
2
Affordable Rent 3 bed Share House
2
Social Rent 1-bed
4
Social Rent 4-bed
1
Total Dwellings
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An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Photo: Graziano Milano
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Late in 2018 RUSS secured a £988,000 grant from the GLA to enable it to progress the project from the ‘planning consent’ stage to being ready to start on site. This grant will cover the cost of remediating the land, and enable RUSS to comply with the Planning Conditions. It will also fund the professional consultancy team to prepare detailed technical drawings and the procurement of a suitable Management Contractor to oversee the work.
The site A century ago the site was the generously proportioned garden of 12 Church Grove. At this time the Ravensbourne River flowed along its northern edge; these days the river is contained in a culvert. Part of the site was then planted as an orchard. In the 1960s the garden and orchard were acquired by the GLC and a small school was constructed on it. The school relocated around a decade ago and since then the site has not been in use.
The residents group Working with the council RUSS developed an agreed allocations policy - this prioritised people who had a local connection and met key affordability criteria. The homes were oversubscribed by a factor of five, so in the end the residents were selected by ballot at a public event held in the council chamber from those that met the key criteria. A reserve list was established too. A residents group was set up in 2016. Since then the residents have been involved in ten design workshops with the architect and RUSS’s community facilitation consultant, shaping the Brief and agreeing the final design that has emerged. Members of the group have also been involved in consultation exercises with nearby residents and in fundraising activities.
RUSS became aware of the site about five years ago and started to lobby the council to see if it could be made available for a Community-Led Housing project. Following a formal selection process, it was then selected to redevelop the site.
Photo: Warwick Sweeney
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Architype Architects
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
The professional team
Structural Engineers Rodrigues Associates
RUSS has appointed a first-class professional team with a wealth of experience of CommunityLed Housing initiatives.
Environmental and Services Engineers Ritchie + Daffin
Project Manager Geoff Haslam and Chris Carthy from Local Agenda – a specialist team with a strong track record in the delivery of community-led projects Strategic Advice and Group Facilitation Jon Broome and Sam Brown of JBA – a practice with experience in housing, self-build and community development. Architects, Passivhaus Designers and CDM Consultants James Todd, Sarah Ernst, Gareth Selby, Rosie Evered and Robin Hillier of Architype – a practice with extensive experience of housing, low energy buildings and community projects.
Landscape Architects Roundfield Transport Consultant WYG Planning Consultant Lichfields Flood Risk Advice Price & Myers
Legal Advice Catherine Hand of Trowers & Hamlins – a leading housing solicitor with experience in self and custom build. Financial Advice Jeremy Pannell of Triodos Corporate Finance – an expert in raising social investment. Quantity Surveyor Gordon Hutchinson has a wealth of relevant experience. Photo: Architype Architects
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An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Gearing up for the construction stage
Individual fit-out contracts
In 2017 RUSS appointed an experienced project management consultancy called Local Agenda to act as its Client Representative on the project. The Local Agenda team is responsible for instructing contractors, and for liaising with RUSS and the residents. The team also monitors and manages costs on behalf of RUSS.
The Management Contractor will draw up contracts with those residents that opt to self-finish their homes. This will identify the timescales and quality standards that residents will have to meet.
One of Local Agenda’s other key tasks is to appoint a Management Contractor, after planning permission was granted in June 2018. The Management Contractor will be responsible for managing all aspects of construction, including the construction packages for the whole project. These will be competitively tendered and the prices integrated into the overall cost plan. An integral part of the work will explore how residents can add value to the project through options such as self-finishing. The Management Contractor will also procure all the materials as cost effectively as possible. In summer 2019 RUSS expects to let an enabling contract to get the site ready for the main construction work to begin. This will be prepared and tendered by the Management Contractor and will include site preparation, site services and substructures. The Management Contractor’s next main task will involve finalising the contractual arrangements for constructing the weathertight house shells for all the homes; they will also assess how best volunteers and trainees can contribute to the work, and they will be responsible for health and safety issues.
Landscaping the site The landscape design across the whole of the Church Grove site will be finalised with the residents in 2019. The layout will consider the balance between food growing, private gardens, children’s play space and other leisure spaces. The design will probably be implemented by RUSS residents and volunteers.
Managing the project once complete The housing management function – including collecting and accounting for service charges and rents, and dealing with repairs, cyclical maintenance and the grounds – will initially be tendered to local housing providers. In time RUSS believes that the residents of Church Grove may wish to take on some or all of these functions. This approach could save money and would also provide an opportunity for residents to develop new skills in housing management.
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
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Architype Architects
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Helping increase the number of self-build homes is integral to our commitment to boost house building. By doubling the number built we not only create much needed new homes but enable people to live in houses designed by themselves, to meet their own needs. Gavin Barwell Former Housing and Planning Minister
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07 Structure and Governance
RUSS is a Community Land Trust (CLT) – a formal body set up and run by local people to deliver and manage more affordable homes. The organisation is registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act (No. 30624R) and it has been granted charitable status by HMRC (No. XT18342). RUSS has a formal constitution, known as the Rule Book. This is based on the model rules for CLTs, which was drawn up by the CLT Network and Land for People.
Membership
The Board of Trustees
RUSS is a member-led organisation. Anyone can become a member by buying a community share for £1. With this share a member gets one vote. Members can buy more shares but they still only have one vote. In early 2018 RUSS had over 800 members.
RUSS’s Trustees set the overall strategic direction for the organisation. They monitor performance against the business plan and ensure the organisation’s resources and finances are being correctly managed. The Trustees also provide leadership, guidance, financial governance and ensure that RUSS fulfils its charitable duties.
Members typically meet several times each month to exchange ideas, run workshops and to monitor progress. These meetings are the ‘engine room’ of RUSS. They are self-chaired and are typically attended by a cross section of members plus representatives from the Board of Trustees and the Church Grove project team. Between meetings, members use a real-time messaging and communications tool to share ideas and communicate informally with each other.
The Trustees include several of the founders of RUSS and some of the residents that are expected to move into the first project in Lewisham. Collectively the Board has significant experience of business, social housing, community engagement, construction processes, self-build, financial management and fundraising.
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An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Kwame Lowe Co-Chair Kwame has been an active RUSS member for some years now. He has worked in the social housing sector, has a wealth of experience liaising with funders and is currently creating his own online art gallery, giving him a useful understanding of media and communication. He was born and bred in Lewisham and has a strong connection to the local community. He has a first-class degree in Politics and he believes RUSS has developed an innovative solution to the housing crisis that people from all backgrounds should be given the opportunity to embrace. Anurag Verma Co-Chair Anurag studied architecture in India and worked in Germany before moving to London for further study. He lives locally and is an associate director at Latitude Architects. He is passionate about RUSS’s innovative ‘model’ for delivering affordable self-built homes and wants to see it replicated widely across London and other cities. He has a keen eye for detail and believes he can play a key role in ensuring the Church Grove scheme is delivered in an innovative, efficient and cost-effective manner. Carol Reid Secretary Carol is instrumental in making sure RUSS runs smoothly. In her day job she is the Programme Director for a national grant-making foundation, where she sits on the Board as a member of the executive team. She is also one of the future residents of RUSS’s Church Grove development. As well as being secretary Carol is involved in the organisation’s vital fundraising work, and ensures all documentation – from agendas and minutes to RUSS’s Business Plan and its Annual Report and Accounts – are compliant and fit-for-purpose.
Phil Morris Treasurer Phil is a semi-retired accountant who has worked in social housing for most of his career. He is a board member of Coin Street Community Builders, having been involved at Coin Street since 1984. In the early 1990s he was the finance director at South London Family Housing Association, where he developed funding arrangements for self build housing for rent and shared ownership, and worked with Chisel Neighbourhood Housing Association. This resulted in innovative self build schemes in South London, Brighton and Essex. Megan Ancliffe Trustee Megan has been one of the inspirational team behind the successful crowd funding of the Community Hub building that will form part of the Church Grove project. A qualified architect who is currently working on the Crossrail project, she has a wealth of design, construction, technical, project management and health and safety knowledge that will be invaluable to RUSS. She has also played a key role in a number of voluntary arts projects. Megan will be one of the residents when the Church Grove scheme is completed. Dave Dayes Trustee Dave was one of the original team that constructed the pioneering Walters Way self build project in the 1980s. Since then he has, with his sons, renovated the home so that it is now highly energy efficient. Dave believes community self-build projects can deliver really affordable homes, and also lead to more cohesive and supportive communities. He is responsible for RUSS’s training activities and earns a living teaching Iyengar Yoga in his own self-built Yoga studio.
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Dan de Lezameta Trustee Dan is the contracts manager for an architectural glass company and he is an experienced project manager. He is bringing his knowledge of the building process to RUSS as it prepares for its first development. He is also on the list as a future resident of the Church Grove project and is giving time and energy as a Trustee to help ensure the project goes to plan. He also has responsibility for liaising with and growing RUSS’s membership. Courtney Redd Trustee Courtney is a senior manager in the forensics team at EY, focusing on assisting clients in the financial services sector. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner, and she is experienced in financial statement audits, financial crime compliance work, forensic accounting and fraud investigations. As a Trustee she provides oversight of RUSS’s finances and sits on the Finance and Audit Committee. Ted Stevens, OBE Trustee Ted is one of the UK’s leading Community LedHousing and self-build campaigners. In 2008 he set up the National Custom and Self Build Association, and he chaired it until 2014. He then managed a research programme looking at how Britain could learn from the many innovative Community-Led Housing projects that have been built across Europe. He has a successful track record of fundraising, and has strong contacts with government, the wider housing world and the self-build media. As a Trustee he co-ordinates RUSS’s various fundraising activities.
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Finance and Audit Committee The Board of Trustees delegates day-to-day financial management to a committee that is chaired by the Treasurer and attended by nominated board members and RUSS’s bookkeeper. The committee meets quarterly and is responsible for ensuring robust financial and organisational systems and processes. The Finance and Audit Team makes recommendations to the Board and its remit includes: Development
controls;
of robust financial systems and
Scrutinising
monthly management accounts, including cash flow forecasts;
Preparing
and updating the budget and reporting any variances;
Ensuring
compliance with payments, reporting obligations and covenants to lenders and investors;
Ensuring
compliance with contracts
Maintaining
insurances.
Project Board A Project Board is set up for each development RUSS undertakes. The Committee has representation from the Board of Trustees, the wider membership, future residents and the Project Manager. Members of the wider professional team are invited to present when appropriate. The Project Board acts as the ‘client’ when engaging with professionals and external stakeholders. The Committee has delegated decision-making powers, but refers major decisions back to the Board of Trustees and/ or consults with the wider membership, as necessary. RUSS currently has just one Project Board – for the Church Grove project. This meets monthly to review progress and make decisions.
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Photo: Graziano Milano
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Executive Functions The Board of Trustees directs the executive functions of the organisation. This work is currently mainly undertaken by two specialist consultants who were appointed following robust competitive tendering and interviews. A
Project Manager (Local Agenda) to plan and deliver its projects;
A
Strategic Facilitator (JBA) to co-ordinate, consult with and manage the residents during the design and construction stages.
Professional Team RUSS has recruited an experienced professional team to deliver the Church Grove project. The full list is available on page 23. Volunteers RUSS provides many opportunities for volunteering. The organisation has a core group of regularly active members and a database of other volunteers who are called upon when there is a need to increase capacity. Volunteers operate as small teams under the leadership of Champions who have delegated responsibilities for specific tasks, events and activities.
Champions Champions have been appointed from the wider membership who are responsible for activities such as: Community
Fundraising
Communications The
and Marketing
School for Community-Led Housing
Training
in self-build and Passivhaus
Measuring
the social impact of the pilot project in Lewisham
Establishing
a pilot community hub at the first project in Lewisham
Food
growing on the Lewisham site
Community
Arts projects linked to the Lewisham site
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
RUSS – Governance Structure
Board of Trustees Finance and Audit Committee
SS CE O PR
CO -D ES I
G
Members
Professional Team
Professional Advice
SS
CO-
E OC PR
DE SIG N
Funders & Banks
N
Residents
Residents Reps
Choices & Feedback
Project Board
Key Activities
Volunteers
Champions
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The housing crisis is on everyone’s minds as people are priced out of buying their own homes, paying exorbitant rents in the private sector or forced to wait for years on the social housing register. But it doesn’t have to be like this. Communities can and should be building their own housing and there are already lots of successful community groups building the kinds of homes their area needs. Tony Armstrong Chief Executive, Locality
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
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08 Plan for Growth
RUSS has grown rapidly over the last eight years to a current membership of over 800 people. The organisation has developed an extensive bank of knowledge about the practicalities of delivering affordable Community-Led Housing projects. The organisation can also call upon the skills of a network of specialist professionals – architects, planners, landscapers, cost consultants, ecologists, construction project managers and engineers. RUSS has received huge support, media coverage and encouragement for its work – all of which demonstrates the real appetite there is to provide affordable homes by following the RUSS model. People have been inspired by the RUSS model as it demonstrates that it is still possible – despite the acute London housing crisis – to facilitate affordable housing for people on modest incomes. But RUSS isn’t just about delivering affordable homes – it is also committed to encouraging more people to grow their own food, generating renewable energy, and providing training in sustainable construction techniques and Community-Led Housing.
Its housing sites will be key to this, as they will provide a base to operate from and an income stream that RUSS can use to fund its work. The Church Grove project is just the beginning. RUSS plans to grow each of its three core areas of activity: The Its
organisation itself
community outreach and training activities
The
number of affordable housing projects it delivers
Proposed West Elevation, Ladywell Self-Build Community Space, Church Grove, Lewisham. To be constructed during Spring 2019
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An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Growing the organisation RUSS’s dedicated membership has brought it to where it is today. Without its members giving up their time, there would be no site on which to build, no expertise in how ordinary citizens can organise their own homes, and no commitment to sustainable living. One of RUSS’s key objectives is to pass this knowledge on to the hundreds of other groups around the UK that want to build something similar. Key to this will be the establishment of the RUSS School of Community-Led Housing. RUSS also wants to build strong links with the local communities at each of its projects. A community arts programme involving local residents and schools is therefore in the process of being set up close to the Church Grove project in Lewisham. These ambitions will only be realised if RUSS is able to grow its own resource base. The members believe that this can best be achieved if RUSS establishes itself as an umbrella organisation. Beneath this there would be a number of subsidiaries representing the individual housing projects and other educational and sustainability initiatives it is involved with.
Each of these subsidiaries is expected to be constituted as a multi-stakeholder co-operative, so the people who live or work there have the majority control. Where required RUSS will then provide management services to the cooperatives (for a modest fee so that RUSS can cover its own operational costs). To do all this RUSS will need to recruit a small team to provide advice on issues like the viability of new projects, the preparation of business plans, fundraising and the most effective methods of recruiting potential residents. The team would also support the establishment of projects in food production and the generation of renewable energy and develop the programme of training courses run by School of Community-Led Housing. RUSS’s business plan sets out an ambition to have a team of five full and part time staff, including an operations manager, a housing manager, a projects officer, a communications officer and a volunteer co-ordinator.
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Growing the outreach programme RUSS members believe the Church Grove project will act as a catalyst to initiate a diverse range of outreach projects – from the School of Community-Led Housing to a suite of training courses in self build, the construction of a community hub, food production and renewable energy generation, and the launch of a community arts project. The School of Community-Led Housing In November 2016 RUSS ran a pilot one-day Community-Led Housing workshop. The course was designed to share the learning and experience it has gained over recent years. A string of workshop sessions have since been organised and collectively almost 200 people have attended, from a range of backgrounds – students, housing practitioners, housing activists and people new to Community-Led Housing. Based on this RUSS believes it can run a range of training courses over the coming years. The courses will mainly be delivered by RUSS volunteers, so the costs will be low. They should therefore generate a healthy annual income for the organisation, to help fund the core team RUSS wants to recruit. RUSS’s members believe the organisation has now developed a replicable model that other groups can use or adapt to enable them to acquire their own land to develop for community benefit. Community Arts Projects At a local community fair in June 2016 volunteers organised a collaborative art project called ‘RUSS City’. This involved local children and their families creating their ideal city using a wide range of materials that were provided by the RUSS team. The volunteer behind this pilot initiative has now applied for a grant to enable RUSS to run a community arts education programme linked to the Church Grove project.
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Ladywell Self-Build Community Space In the summer of 2017 RUSS organised a successful crowdfunding campaign to finance the construction of a self-build community space on the Church Grove site in Ladywell. The project was supported by The Mayor of London and more than 300 other backers who, between them, raised £52,000. The building will be constructed by local people and volunteers and will provide a knowledge hub for self-building, community-led housing and sustainable living. It will also offer people the opportunity to get hands-on experience of self-building and, once complete, the space will host RUSS’s School for Community-Led Housing workshops.
Growing the number of affordable housing projects When the Church Grove project is complete the rental income will generate a surplus that will be used to seed-fund other similar housing projects. The Church Grove project will also include a community facility that will act as the RUSS team’s base. RUSS believes its model can be widely replicated and it wants to facilitate or enable a number of other similar affordable housing projects across London over the coming decade.
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The Government’s funding to help Community-Led Housing projects is hugely significant. This is the first time in a generation that major government investment has been made into this sector. It provides a real opportunity for the sector to deliver substantially more affordable homes. David Ireland, OBE Director, World Habitat
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
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09 Managing Risk
RUSS recognises that it needs to carry out its activities in such a way that all potential risks are identified, and then well managed and mitigated. The organisation monitors both organisational risks and project risks and recognises their inter-dependence. Community groups like RUSS operate in an environment dominated by commercial businesses who often have different values and aims. Community organisations also tend to have limited assets that they can use as security to guarantee borrowings. RUSS recognises this so it has recruited a good team of expert consultants and Trustees to help it. This has enabled the organisation to draw up a sophisticated and detailed Risk Register under three main headings – Funding, Construction and Governance. Under each heading the Register identifies all the potential risks, rates their likelihood, their potential impact and sets out a mitigation strategy. The Register is reviewed regularly, and updated when required. This professional approach has helped RUSS get to where it is today. So far the organisation has secured a prime one-acre site to build its first project on. The Development Agreement provides security for investors, as the site is currently worth several millions of pounds. The RUSS team has also prepared a full planning application that was formally approved in June 2018. This too has added to the value of the site.
RUSS’s professional approach has already enabled it to secure grants and loans worth almost £1,500,000. Detailed evaluations have been undertaken to ensure RUSS opts for the most effective way of building the homes. RUSS believes cost savings of around £1m can be achieved on the Church Grove project through the use of labour provided by the future residents of the homes. This is important, as it reduces the cost of the homes, making them truly affordable to those residents on lower incomes. This evaluation has weighed up the pros and cons of various ‘self build’ options and has identified a solution that the team is confident will work effectively. A detailed value engineering process has also been undertaken to ensure the build costs are within budget. RUSS has worked hard to establish robust governance procedures, and it has recruited a number of new well-qualified Trustees to its Board; the team of professional advisors that has been appointed to work on the Church Grove project are also all leaders in their field.
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There is no question that RUSS is a very important organisation and ready to build its first innovative community-led housing project. Sir Richard Rogers Internationally celebrated Architect and former Chair of the Government’s Urban Task Force
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
10 Volunteers and Donors
RUSS achievements to date wouldn’t be possible without the dedication and passion of its volunteers – a group of talented, knowledgeable and inspired people who have helped turn RUSS’s vision into a reality. We are also extremely grateful to members, local companies and organisations for their support and donations.
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An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
11 Supporters
The work of RUSS has been supported by a network of organisations and funders. These includes:
Lewisham
year lease
Council – access to site on a 250
Greater London Authority – pre-development
grant funding
Mayor of London – Crowdfund London pledge
for the Ladywell Self-Build Community Space
Homes
& Communities Agency – support for application to Custom Build Serviced Plots Loan Fund
Triodos
Bank – in principle offer of development finance and long term loan
Big
Potential Advance – grant to retain the Triodos Corporate Finance team to work on RUSS’s behalf to secure funding for the project
CAF
Bank – intention to provide development finance and long-term loan
CAF
Venturesome – pre-development loan
Big
Issue Invests – pre-development loan and in principle offer of development loan
Parity
Trust – retained for financial vetting of residents & support for shared-ownership mortgages
Tudor
Trust – pre-development grants
Locality
process
– grant for participatory co-design
Mayor of London’s Innovation Fund –
post-planning grant funding
Co-op
Foundation – grant/loan to support the appointment of RUSS’s Operations Director
National
Lottery Awards for All – a grant to support the RUSS School for Community-Led Housing
National
grant
CLT Network – ‘See it & believe it’
Habitat
for Humanity – offered to partner with RUSS as a training provider
Hexagon
Housing Association – potential provider of management and maintenance services
Ecology
Building Society – support for long-term mortgage finance & sharedownership mortgages
CDS
Co-operatives – support and potential funding
School
of Architecture, The University of Sheffield – support with visual illustrations from staff and students
RUSS is regularly invited to help shape emerging housing policy. This support network includes: Building
& Social Housing Foundation, BSHF
London
School of Economics, LSE
Greater
London Authority, GLA
Community
Led Housing London, CLH
Parliamentary
launches and debates on housing and self-build policy
An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
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12 Media Coverage
RUSS has also received a huge amount of positive press coverage, including the following:
Right
to Build: Nick Boles tells councils to offer land for self-builds ‘or be sued’ The Guardian, 7 May 2014
Self-build
Self-build
Lewisham
Councils
Community
‘This
Self-build
Self-build
The
homes return to Lewisham at former Ladywell school site News Shopper, 5 December 2014 look to radical alternatives to solve the UK’s housing crisis The Guardian, 6 May 2015 isn’t at all like London’: life in Walter Segal’s self-build ‘anarchist’ estate The Guardian,16 September 2015 housing scheme London Live TV Lewisham, 15 October 2015
New
‘build-it-yourself’ housing approved East London Lines, 22 October 2015
The
do-it-yourself answer to Britain’s housing crisis The Guardian, 10 November 2015
Architype’s
Lewisham self-build homes get go-ahead Architects Journal, 11 November 2015
Ladywell
self-build community takes shape Brockley Central (blog), January 2016
A
little piece of utopia Brockley Central (blog), January 2016
pioneers: the estate pointing the friendly way out of a housing crisis The Guardian, 21 January 2016 residents build their own dream homes to beat London’s housing crisis Evening Standard, 7 May 2016 scheme offers blueprint for a way out of London’s housing crisis Positive News, 28 June 2016 homes in Ladywell get green light from the Mayor East London Lines, 12 July 2016 radical model fighting the housing crisis: property prices based on income The Guardian, 16 January 2017
The
story of Lewisham’s radical selfbuilders The Observer, 16 July 2017
Ladywell
self-build: these south Londoners are helping build their own flats for a cutprice home from £77k ES Homes & Property, 3 July 2018
Mayor
of London Sadiq Khan backs community self builds Build It, 10 October 2018
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An innovative approach to Community-Led Housing
Photo: Graziano Milano
I met two of the most passionate and amazing people from the Rural Urban Synthesis Society today. With so few spaces for community gatherings, it is essential that a community comes together and pushes hard towards making this happen. It has to be a MUST! Glenn Mottershead Local Lewisham resident
Walter Segal
Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS) 11 Walters Way, London SE23 3LH info@theruss.org
www.theruss.org
Designed by Graziano Milano
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