CAE - Centre for Accessible Environments’ Post

Great to see this report out from TOWN on the Marmalade Lane Cohousing Scheme in Cambridge. Custom built, commissioned by the local authority, developer enabled, a "site first" project (the residents were invited to join, rather than a community group seeking developer/land as the first move). It's important to note that this isn't the only model or example of cohousing in the UK (there are 11 new build schemes and around 15 coversions of existing mansions/farms) many ground-breaking and award-winning. They come in various sizes and designs. Research into good practice continues. However, the origins story here offers a more mainstream, commercially led, route to creating further versions which TOWN are busy doing. The event brought together movers and shakers amongst local authorities, developers, landowners, so hopefully we will see further opportunities arise. For me the story here, clarifies that rather than lazily dismissing cohousing and others schemes as dreamy or "convivial" nice to haves - it confirms that designing places to be sociable, connected and resident powered seems practical and sensible way to approach sustainable living, food, energy security and mutual self-help in the challenging times ahead. Congrats the community, council and Jonny Anstead, Frances Wright, Neil Murphy, keen to hear reflections - Neil Stephens, Angela Doran, NIGEL KERSEY, Sacha Wright, Julian Brooks, Wrigleys Solicitors, Jon Lee, Laura Moss, Sam Goss, Meredith Bowles,

Meanwhile... 👇 The NSW Government will simplify the rules for 'meanwhile use' 🙌 It means vacant property can be repurposed - for temporary or emergency accommodation, pop-up shops, creative spaces, or community hubs. This has long been a priority for the Property Council ✔ It's innovative planning, it makes good use of space, and it helps those in need. Today's move is strong signal for the property sector, local councils, and community groups to work together in activating these spaces.   TOGA Group's 'The Central Project' in Sydney is a great example of 'meanwhile use' 👍 It's made pop-up community housing for young people and refugees possible, together with retail spaces for charities. The project won the nbn Award for Product, Program or Service Innovation at this year’s Property Council Innovation and Excellence Awards 🏆 Find out more in the comments. #MeanwhileUse #Planning #Housing #Property Jeremy Gill, Eamon Waterford, Committee for Sydney, Katie Stevenson, Mike Zorbas Anita Hugo GAICD Ross Grove Amy De Lore Michelle Guido Emma Thompson Nikki Allen Andrew Parkinson Skye Tito Adrian Harrington Property Council NSW

Spennymoor has been chosen as one of the towns to benefit and is set to receive £20 million of government funding over the next 10 years. This investment provides an opportunity to carry on regenerating the town and build on our recent £7.5 million of investment. To receive the funding, the town needs to develop a 10 year long Town Plan, setting out the town's vision and priorities for investment and regeneration, linked to the three themes of: High streets, heritage and regeneration: Projects such as the re-use or conversion of empty high street buildings, the creation of parks and green spaces, preserving heritage sites, encouraging new uses for the high street and ensuring that local people can take advantage of new jobs this would create. Transport and connectivity: Projects to improve roads and cycle routes to make the town centre more accessible, while also making it safer. Safety and security: Projects to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, such as CCTV, youth activities, street lighting, additional policing and council wardens, awareness raising and community outreach. We want to hear from business owners from Spennymoor on how the fund could be spent to support them. There will be a drop in event for Spennymoor businesses, 4-7pm on 23rd May in Spennymoor Leisure Centre. https://lnkd.in/e4q8bzk4

The view from our offices at Somerset House. We were lucky to escape the flames 🚒 I couldn't quite believe it when I saw the pictures this weekend: a fire burning on the south side of the building, really close to our offices on the top floor. After the relief that no one was hurt, my mind turned to a couple of things: 1. What would the impact be on the Somerset House team, and the building itself? 2. How would we handle it at Hubbub? I don't need to worry much about the second one. Somerset House has been our home since we started - and we just renewed our lease - but we're all hybrid and set up to work from anywhere. My heart goes out to the Somerset House team, though, and the non-profit Trust they work for. It's a disaster, and so soon after they have recovered from the challenges brought by Covid.  A lot of people don't realise that there are offices in the building. But it's full of brilliant organisations. It's dubbed "the home of cultural innovators", which seems about right. It's an incredibly vibrant place to work. Our neighbours include an indie publisher, a ballet company, a music agency, and lots more. The team there gave so much support the community during Covid and beyond.   I hope they get it back in spades now. 🙏 Oh - one other thing: every Monday morning they test the fire alarms. It always happens just after we start our team meeting. The disruption is a bit of a running joke. It is going to feel very different from now on. ++ P.S. I'm CEO of environmental charity Hubbub. We create campaigns with business, government and civil society that inspire environmental action. Follow me - Alex Robinson - for insights on environmental change, leadership and more. #environment #sustainability #London

🏡✨ Big change starts with small steps! Learn about MEDLIFE’s first staircase project and how it started an ongoing series of projects within our partner communities to help create easier to navigate terrain. Click below to read the full story 💪🌍 #MEDLIFE #CommunityDevelopment #NonprofitWork #SustainableProjects #EmpowerCommunities #StaircaseProject

Greater Anglia has announced that it is funding 34 community projects as part of its new Customer and Community Improvement Fund initiative. Grants of up to £50,000 were available, with the train operator pledging a total of £350,000 this financial year, to projects across the Greater Anglia network as part of its ongoing support for communities. #railnews #railways #ukrail #rail 

I am absolutely in support of investing in community-led projects, and providing opportunities for neighbours to gather and collaborate on projects. I have personally benefited from the City’s support during Neighbours Day AND what I’ve learned over the years is that municipalities and systems talk in numbers: (1)money spent and (2)projects completed. They seldom evaluate the impact of their efforts, by asking questions like: Do people feel more connected to their neighbours? Have the capacities of residents been recognized and centred? What impact has this initiative had on a community’s wellbeing? Also, how much staffing money will be spent on administering $1 million that could be better served by redirecting it to neighbourhood and citizen-led groups? Now to put another spin on this, let’s say a charitable organization has raised $1million over 7 years, but has spent, let’s say, $500,000/year in raising and administering those dollars, what would the headline be?

We’re excited to announce that Wunan Foundation has been awarded funding under the Aboriginal Employee Housing Grants Program, supported by the Cook Labor Government’s $200 million North-West Aboriginal Housing Fund. This funding will enable us to build new housing units in the East Kimberley, providing much-needed affordable rental options for Aboriginal employees. We extend our congratulations to the other successful Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) working to address housing needs across the Kimberley and Pilbara regions. Access to secure, stable housing is essential for workforce retention, financial wellbeing, and community connection, and we’re proud to be part of this initiative. A huge thank you to the State Government for investing in housing solutions that directly support Aboriginal employees and their families in regional WA.

People often ask how I sleep at night. The fact that I’m writing this at 3 a.m. probably says it all! Getting buildings into the hands of local people, so they can pursue their passions and make a difference, is absolutely essential for our collective, creative future and community wellbeing. Absent and greedy landlords continue to extract wealth from our communities, councils are selling off community assets and rents are going up and up. It’s crystal clear that things have to change and we are trying to do that, inspired by so many others leading the way! But its a bit like David and Goliath! We need more local ownership and community cooperatives to create a brighter future for the next generation. We are pleased the Governement are backing the community right to buy! We need the access to finance and resource to go with it and we need it yesterday. Hearing the voices of young people from Coalville tonight at our celebration event and the stories of those who’ve benefited from spaces like CAN HQ makes it all worthwhile. These moments remind us why we do what we do and why we don't sleep much! A huge thank you to World Habitat for being an ethical landlord and giving us the time to develop our plans and raise funds. But let’s be honest—it really shouldn’t be this hard for communities to take ownership of the places that matter to them. Let’s keep fighting for change and a future where communities are in control of their own spaces! We're Right Here World Habitat Coalville C.A.N Ian Wilson Association of Camerados Sam Conniff Sam Moon Jon Alexander Naomi Rubbra Rebecca Trevalyan Hannah Sloggett Simon Duffy Louise Driver Marc Stears Will Brett Richard Bell Angela Fell #CommunityOwnership #CANHQ #WorldHabitat #PositiveChange

What would it mean to you as a local community, if you had ownership and control of your own permanently affordable housing portfolio, that was also designed to the specific needs of your community… For the people, by the people? How would you feel as a community knowing that you not only had a voice at the table in the shaping of your local built environment, but you were the people behind the wheel, sitting in the drivers seat? How transformational would it be for your community to be able to generate generational equity and wealth, for the future of your people? "A community land trust is a non-profit organisation that holds title to property to deliver permanently affordable housing and community benefit. To ensure they meet the needs of the community they serve, CLTs are characterised by active voting memberships that include, but are not limited to, residents of the CLT’s homes.  In addition to permanently affordable homes that can be rental through to ownership, many CLTs also steward a range of community, open space, and/or commercial properties in response to local need."- The Australian Community land Trust Network I say… Let's put away all this silliness of power, privilege, and prestige, and get everyone, young and old, around the table to talk about our future together While we are at it, let's get someone, or everyone, to stand in as a voice for the local natural world as well Let's envision a future that we can all share, while sharing in its design, its development, its capacity to be a force for change towards more respect and reciprocity, for caring and community, for shared and self love Today, we launched our National Association for Community Land Trusts website as a free resource to the Nation… Tomorrow, we get to work restructuring its built environment towards a model of civilisation fit for you, your family, and your community, fit for us as custodians of this living world https://lnkd.in/gvh3aisM #regenerativedevelopment #clt's #communitydevelopment #regionaldevelopment #australia #housing #affordablehousing