Way back in August 2022 the first household moved into their home in Hazelmead – it seems a lifetime ago now. Over time C G Fry, our builders, released the next two terraces, and by March 2023 these 16 homes were occupied.
Judith moved into the home at the end of that phase of the development and found herself fascinated by the way the whole building process was managed and carried out.
Eventually, the top row’s North West terrace, along with the three terraces that form the central row, were completed and handed over. Gradually, members moved in; some were ‘old BC hands’ while others had become members quite recently. Six of the 19 homes on this row were designated for households with a BC member employed by the local NHS Trust – no commuting concerns for these particular members.
Once the construction of the two apartment blocks and ancillary buildings was complete, tarmac was laid on the lower car park. And, once this was declared ‘fit to use’, there was an explosion of joy as children flocked to the space with their bikes, skateboards, roller skates – anything with wheels! This surface is markedly different to the hoggin that was chosen for our paths for its permeability.
In August the area designated for the Common House build, sited between the two apartment blocks, was handed over and construction organised by BC began, using cassettes made offsite. And on another joyful afternoon, the news spread among BC members that the telehandler would be lowering the first cross member into place. Excited members flocked to the common house build from all over the site and beyond. Having an audience may have made it harder for the operator of the machine, but we were so caught up in the moment we couldn’t drag ourselves away until it was perfectly slotted into place.
For technical reasons the apartment buildings were not yet ready to be handed over and 16 households had to manage their emotions and wait, wait in fact until December when the keys were finally handed over.
One of the 16 households waiting was Jim, whose moving in was delayed when he broke a leg in November, so he found himself stuck in hospital while it healed up.
Speaking for my household, Hugh and I were also one of the 16. We’d become involved with Bridport Cohousing in March 2009, and were part of the group of 25 who formed the original membership in that September. In January this year, 2024, 2 months short of 15 years later, we finally moved into a ground floor flat in the South West Apartment block.
We love our flat and its position within the site. The greater satisfaction is in knowing that while we ourselves now have a lovely home, BC also has lovely homes for 52 other households and will have lovely facilities that we can share with the wider community.