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Our community-led housing group has taken a huge step forward this week with its plan to build affordable, sustainable homes for local people looking for a different way of living in this vibrant Dorset town.
The cohousing site is next door to Bridport Community Hospital in North Allington. After over four years of negotiations with the Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust, this month the Department of Health in Westminster authorised the agreed access arrangements. This had proved to be a major sticking point for the group and their management team.
The site had planning permission in 2016 for 34 affordable homes and a common house. BC had been granted an ‘option to purchase’ the land from a Bridport family who had generously wanted this particular site to be sold to a community project.
Considerable patience has been needed from the family and from Bridport Cohousing, who have both had to deal with unexpected years of delay to the project.Time was very close to running out as a deadline was looming to buy the land, and the cohousing group could not proceed without the NHS access agreement in place.It was a classic case of Catch 22!!
To make this even more of a nail-biting time for members (who have been working diligently on the project for the past 9 years) a short-term funding gap appeared due to the delays, and the group found that they had to raise over a quarter of a million pounds from somewhere to secure the land!
The day before Christmas Eve they publicised a loan offer to friends and family and the wider community of Bridport. Within 3 weeks the money had been promised, within 8 weeks it had been collected and within 12 weeks the land had been bought!
“What a rollercoaster!! And how amazing it is to know that we have so many supporters out there who believe in what we are trying to achieve and are willing to help us to make it happen,” said one member.
Rose Harris, a member since 2009, said, “I am very relieved and extremely pleased to hear that the relevant agreements are all signed at last with the NHS and land owner, after a painfully long wait. So the group moves into a new phase of the journey which seemed so straightforward 9 years ago!”
The next stage of the Bridport Cohousing journey will be to conclude the agreement with our development partner and to build the homes. The neighbourhood has been designed by its members to provide a more environmentally sensitive approach to living on a modern housing development.
Katy Marshall and her daughter Ava recently became the newest members of Bridport Cohousing. Katy says, “I always believed in the ethos, shared values and goals of this group in bringing a community together to live in a way that benefits us all, not just looking out for ourselves as individuals. I am particularly excited about living in a more environmentally aware way, sharing resources, knowing my neighbours and contributing to ideas and projects that will support and be of benefit to Bridport's community as a whole.’’
It has taken amazing resolve for BC members and their professional advisors to keep going over the years and it shows the strength of their vision that the project is still alive and progressing in spite of so many changes in government policy, and bureaucratic delays and setbacks.
We are currently seeking new members
who share our values to join this ground-breaking project to provide 34 affordable homes, all at 80% of open market value,
17 for sale and 17 for rent.
It's 20th March 2018, the snow's gone and we've just learned that we now really own the land for phase one and the right of access to it!
So a propitious opportunity for those of us who could be there - to do just that.
We recorded the event with a few pictures (once we had disentangled ourselves from the bunting). Being a workday, people came and went, so we're planning a barbecue on the land on 5th May, weather permitting. With advance notice, we hope that all our members and many friends will come and celebrate with us.
Willow
New Member Meets The Members
Hi, I'm Sue and as a fairly new member (since August) I am thoroughly enjoying meeting people. I'm also enjoying all the new stuff I'm learning.
That gave me the idea to talk to members and see who BC currently is and also to share it with everyone else; current members, Friends, and people who might be thinking of joining.
Here's a bit about Julian:
Julian has been an active, involved member of Bridport Cohousing since 2011 and had already loved Bridport where the people are friendly and there’s plenty to do.
He has an excellent community of friends from the Wildlife Trust, the Green Party (for whom he is a councillor), Film Society, Transition town and the Tennis Club to name a few.
So although community is one reason he likes the thought of Cohousing, what draws him even more strongly is the ecological and green aspects of this way of living.
He’s a keen walker (he walked the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu in 1984) and cyclist and the area is wonderful for this. I asked if he was at all nervous on the roads, but upon hearing that he used to cycle around Hyde Park Corner every day many years ago, I agree that this question is redundant. He cycles over the hills to and from Maiden Newton and elsewhere, enjoying the rides and the views.
He is currently treasurer of BC, which isn’t without it’s challenges, not least because of having to attend meetings, as he already attends plenty of meetings for the Green Party and Council.
We segued into a discussion about the merits and otherwise of Sociocracy, BC’s method of self governance. That’s something we could have talked about for longer, but the Ropemaker’s were putting chairs on the tables and sending strong hints …
Thanks for introducing me to the Ropemakers Julian and mentioning that it has some good live music there. Good to know!
Sunday 22nd April 2:30 till 4:00pm 5Rhythms Dance Workshop
held by Sue Rickards All members and their friends welcome, no experience necessary
British Legion Hall, Victoria Grove
Flaxhayes Allotment
Until the weather improves, gardening days will continue on the first Sunday of the month:- Ist April (Easter Sunday) and 6th May.
Members' diary Monday 26th March Soul Circle Meeting 3pm at Emily's Monday 26th March 6-7:30pm Shared Supper, 7:30-9pm Members Meeting
Vernon’s Court Community Room
CoHoHoHoHoHo A conundrum from Cambridge Cohousing, Mass.
Dealing with the dirty rug in the common house. How many co-housers are needed?
One to notice that the rug is dirty.
A dozen to discuss whether it is dirty enough to need cleaning.
One to put a notice on the white board to set up a meeting.
Fifty to reach consensus on the following:
1. how the rug got dirty
2. ways to keep the rug from getting dirty
3. how dirty is dirty enough to require cleaning?
At BC we've chosen to use Sociocracy as a means of decision making and governing ourselves. Which means we don'twork towards consensus, but towards consent, which is different. It means we will look for decisions that are good enough for now, safe enough to try and then review at a later date. (The rug gets cleaned.) It's a fascinating approach to try, not without it's challenges (here Julian and Sue might be a long time discussing this until the pub closes). Anyone interested in this method will find links online. Here's one:
