With community-led pitched as a game-changer, a London borough is in play – opening bids for community built homes on land it owns.
As reported by 24housing, proposals pitched in a Labour commissioned report set foundations for a major expansions of community-led schemes to help solve the housing crisis.
Land for the Many emphasises communities “at the heart of development” in recommending the creation of a Community Land Fund to bring £200m worth of land into community ownership by 2030.
But it was back in January that Croydon council approved a project where local groups can design and develop their own community-led homes on borough land.
Bidders also get design and development support from Brick by Brick, the council-created developer set up to deliver around 2,000 homes including affordable homes.
This week, bidding was underway for the first such site – The Lawns, Upper Norwood, seen as suitable for around four houses.
The eight week process opened via the Greater London Authority (GLA)’s Small Sites Small Builders online portal,.
A shortlist will be drawn up and bids for The Lawns will be assessed for viability, design and the council’s other community-led housing criteria.
Cllr Alison Butler, Croydon Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for homes and Gateway services, said: “Community-led housing is one of a number of ways the council is boosting supply of affordable homes across the borough, and we plan more at other Croydon sites in the future.
“As well as offering good-quality and affordable homes for local people, this development has to be well-designed so it complements the local area and I look forward to seeing the bids we receive.”
Brick by Brick CEO Colm Lacey said: “We’re really excited about supporting this council-led initiative.
“We have a great deal of experience in successfully delivering these type of sites, and we are delighted to be able to help community groups overcome the typical challenges that they present to deliver more affordable homes for Croydon.”
The GLA’s Small Sites programme aims to provide a streamlined service for public sector landowners to bring small, publicly-owned sites forward for housing-led development, as well as invigorate new and emerging sources of supply including small developers, small housing associations and community-led housing groups.
When the winning bid for The Lawns is chosen, the successful applicants will need to carry out detailed engagement with local residents before applying for planning permission.
Additional construction support will be available to the winning bidders if their community-led housing scheme receives planning permission.
With the scheme open to all kinds of interested organisations – from residents’ associations to faith groups – around 25 people attended an advance site visit in early May, with another opportunity offered on June 13.
On launching the initiative, Croydon Council was praised by the National Community Land Trust Network as having “some of the best policies in the country”.
