GM Community Led Homes, known as the “Hub,” provides advice and support to anyone looking to support community-led housing in Greater Manchester. We work with individuals, community groups, and businesses or organisations such as landowners, lenders, local authorities, and Registered Providers of affordable housing.
Community-Led Housing refers to homes that are built or brought back into use by local people, rather than those built by big developers with no connection to a local community. Community-led projects are genuinely understood and supported by the community, and the homes are owned or managed by local people. In many cases the benefits to the community are legally protected in perpetuity. While we are keen to support any and all community-led housing groups and no matter how they are constituted, there are several common categories, as below.
Types of Community Led Housing
Cohousing
Private dwellings alongside communal spaces.
Cohousing communities are typically self-managed developments comprised of a combination of private dwellings and shared spaces such as a common house. They tend to be medium to large sized developments and often prioritise a communal feel. Find out more from the UK Cohousing Network or sign up to our own Greater Manchester Cohousing Network newsletter.
Housing Cooperative
Pooling resources for collective ownership.
A housing co-op is a form of home ownership where residents buy shares in an organisation that owns the entire property, rather than each person owning their own specific home. This allows groups to be more flexible in how they build and manage accommodation, focusing on factors such as community benefit and affordability. Find out more from the Confederation of Co-Operative Housing or Radical Routes.
Community Land Trust
Stewarding land for the benefit of all.
CLTs are special non-profit organisations that are able to acquire and own land in perpetuity for the benefit of the local community. They give ordinary people the means to steward land, often to provide affordable homes or safeguard assets that have meaning to a local area. Find out more from the Community Land Trust Network.
Self/Custom Build
Doing it yourself, start to finish.
Many groups aim to create their own housing vision from scratch, or tackle the high costs of building by doing the work themselves. This might involve buying and retrofitting a property that was previously used for a purpose other than housing, or designing and building something completely original. Such methods enable groups to develop land or buildings that would otherwise be overlooked, or cut the cost of a project by doing some labour themselves. Find out more from the National Custom and Self Build Association.
Greater Manchester Community Led Homes 