Imagine in your local village the young people who go away to university being able to come back and afford to buy a home.
Wouldn’t it be great if older residents, who find their family homes are now too large, were able to downsize to affordable bungalows and still live in the village they have always called home?
Picture young villagers being able to move out of Mum and Dad’s, but instead of having to go to more affordable local towns, staying in the village they have always lived in, and starting their own families, businesses and groups right there.
And what of the middle aged people who want to return to the village they grew up in so their children can be around their grandparents, whilst they offer their parents the care and support they might need in their advancing years?
Imagine putting the heart back into your community.
With community led housing, you can do just that.
Community led housing enables people of all ages – essentially the residents of a village – to get together to plan and build affordable homes that meet the current and future needs of their community. The homes are owned by the community, and the community decides who lives in them.
Whether it is to rent or to buy, this scheme is ideal in rural communities because you, as a local group, come together and work out what would be the right housing for your specific village, and then carry on working together to build homes both for yourselves right now, and for the generations to come.
Funding to make these vital homes happen is available through the national Community Housing Fund and locally through district councils.
Community First Yorkshire, a charity that supports rural communities in North, South and West Yorkshire, is helping residents in Ryedale and Hambleton to tackle the problems of providing local housing for local people at an affordable price.
Working with a wide range of partners, they can provide the information and support to help you achieve your dream of a once-again thriving rural society, where all generations can afford to live, work and play together in the community they love.
This has already happened in Hudswell in Richmondshire, and it is happening throughout the country. Residents in Keswick in the Lake District were so impressed by their first community led housing scheme, they have gone on to build two further developments since.
Isn’t it time it happened for you?
Come and ask questions, find out more and meet other like-minded people at a community led housing ‘breakfast briefing’ at Husthwaite Village Hall (http://husthwaitevillage.com/vh.php) on Saturday 16 March from 10am to 1pm.
There will be tasty breakfast pastries, tea and coffee, plus hear from experts who can tell you the stages you need to go through to get a community led housing scheme started in your local area, how it has been successful elsewhere and the nitty gritty of making affordable community housing a reality for you.
Let’s keep villages together and create a future of affordable housing led by communities for communities.
-ends –
Media contacts:
Jo Fox, Marketing Communications Officer, e: jo.fox@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk and Claire Hetherington, Marketing Communications Officer at Community First Yorkshire e: Claire.hetherington@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk t: 01904 704 177.
Click here to book a place directly at the community led housing briefing on 16 March
Notes to the Editor
For a great insight into community led housing in North Yorkshire, check out this video. You will hear about the funding available, success stories of communities making a go of it and views of the younger and older generation who are doing it.
Please also download our general leaflet on community led housing.
About Community First Yorkshire
Community First Yorkshire is an influential, regional body working across North, South and West Yorkshire to inspire and support positive local action.
We are the first port of call for voluntary & community organisations, social enterprises and parish councils looking for practical support.
We help with everything from governance and funding, to strategic planning and community engagement through our training and events, resources and networks.
We are also a rural community council, part of the national ACRE Network (Action with Communities in Rural England) helping communities improve the quality of life for all people living and working in rural Yorkshire.
Funded by Defra, Community First York provide an important rural advocacy and influencing role, enabling and empowering communities to develop the confidence to help themselves, ensuring their needs are heard by policy makers and service providers, on a local, regional and national scale.
t: 01904 704 177 e: info@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk