In 2008 a group of local people in Bridport, Dorset, came together to design a cohousing neighbourhood that would support a more sustainable life. In this popular seaside town, where renting or owning property continues to be beyond the reach of many, the group decided to focus on ‘affordable homes for local people’.
The journey to completing our development, called ‘Hazelmead’, has seen its fair share of challenges and pitfalls – changes in government policy and the hard slog to secure a site, gain planning permission, and raise the finance, to name a few. Members who were in housing need in 2008 have seen their families grow up and leave home; others have given up in frustration with the slow pace of progress. But new members have always taken their place, excited to join with others to forge a new way to get homes built for local people that will be both wonderful to live in and affordable to rent or buy.
Hazelmead is built on a sunny seven-acre hill-side plot between Allington Hill and the Community Hospital on the north-west edge of Bridport. 53 homes are grouped in small terraces facing the Common House (a work in progress) in a typical cohousing pattern. The homes comprise two-, three-, and four-bedroom houses, and fourteen one bedroom apartments for singles or couples. Half of the homes are for social rent through our housing association partner, Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA). The other half are shared ownership with BCHA for between 25 and 75%, or with Bridport Cohousing for 80%.
How we got here
Here are some key milestones on our development journey:
March 2012 Bridport Cohousing Ltd registered as a Society for Community Benefit
October 2014 Planning application submitted for 39 houses and flats and a Common House in partnership with Barefoot Architects
January 2017 Revised planning permission granted with conditions
January 2018 Community loan issue launched for purchase of land
March 2018 Access agreement signed with Dorset Healthcare University NHS Trust
April 2018 Purchase of Phase 1 land completed
April 2019 Heads of Terms with BCHA for lease and development agreement signed
July 2019 Homes England grant for social housing approved
July 2019 Full planning permission granted for Phase 2 for 19 affordable properties
September 2019 Purchase of Phase 2 land completed
June 2020 BCHA signed contract with C G Fry & Son Ltd for infrastructure and 39 properties
July 2020 Diggers arrive on site to break ground
October 2020 Bridport Cohousing signed contract with C G Fry & Son Ltd for construction of 14 properties
December 2020 Groundworks completed
February 2021 First timber frames arrive on site
August 2022 First terrace occupied by Bridport Cohousing house purchasers
Spring 2023 House renters move in; Bridport Cohousing partners with Common Practice and the School of Natural Building to develop and build our Common House
July 2023 Completion of 39 houses; Help to Buy house owners start moving in
August 2023 Planning approval of revised Common House design; concreteless foundations constructed
Autumn 2023 Common House timber frame, roof and straw bale walls put in place
December 2023 Completion of 14 flats for BCHA (shared ownership and rentals); residents start to move in
January 2024 Primary structure of the Common House completed and Common Practice hand over to Bridport Cohousing to complete the fitout and landscaping
February 2024 All 6 homes reserved for NHS nurses occupied
2024 and 2025 Bridport Cohousing members work together to landscape the site and progress the Common House…
