27 February 2013
Plans are moving forward for a large cohousing scheme on the Northern fringes of Cambridge. The project is being aimed at a group of 40 households who will self-commission the design and the construction of their own home.
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The landowner Cambridge City Council has funded the formation of a cohousing company Cambridge K1 and is helping it achieve outline planning approval so that it can deliver a viable scheme for all involved.
Adam Broadway, from Cambridge Architectural Research Ltd – part of the project management team, said: “We are currently in the first part of phase two where we are trying to get the group to articulate and bring together their ambitions for the project. We have a foundation group of around 15-20 households already in place, but are still looking for other interested parties. This is very much a sustainable vision, so we are leading the group through the issues and challenges of delivering this – not just the environmental but the social and economic issues as well”.
The K1 initiative was originally conceived as potentially being purely a large scale project for multiple one-off self builds. However, due to the fact that the site is council owned, together with other legal issues around VAT, it was determined that the scheme would be a contractor led group project, with scope for ‘self finish’.
“The group coming together aren’t really construction people, but most of them have a variety of other expertise. The question is how far do we go? Do the group concentrate on how to deliver the frame and roof, or plumbing, or electrics? That’s all still to be determined”, Mr Broadway added.
Everyone taking part will eventually have to purchase their property. Cambridge K1 is currently talking to lenders to make this a realistic possibility. The homes are likely to fetch the average asking price for properties in the area, but will be more customised and probably built to a higher specification with some shared communal facilities.
Stephen Hill, also from Cambridge Architectural Research Ltd, said: “A lot of the K1 group’s interests are in more interesting and neighbourly spaces between the homes and some really nice trees across the centre of the site. They have some great ideas for children’s play, quiet reflection, non-intrusive car parking, food growing, even a tree house and a pond, as well the other shared communal facilities normally adopted by cohousing groups”.
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