Pioneering plan for affordable ‘green’ homes wins go-ahead

The Low Impact Living Affordable Community (Lilac) project has been given planning consent by Leeds Council to build what is believed to be the UK’s first affordable ecological co-housing project.

Lilac, a community-based co-operative society, can now move to the next step in its £3m plan to build 20 affordable eco-homes and a common house from straw and timber in west Leeds.

It is hoped that building on site will begin this summer and people can move in by mid-2012.

After five years of work the member-led project has won permission to build 12 flats and eight houses on an old school site in Bramley.

Co-housing schemes allow residents to share activities like community meals and other amenities like laundries, heating systems and guest rooms.

The project has secured a £410,000 grant from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), along with a major Social Enterprise Award.

Secretary of the society and one of its co-founders, Paul Chatterton, said: “This is marvellous news and testimony to the years of hard work from our members and wonderful support from the city council and local community.”

Mr Chatterton, who is also a geography lecturer at Leeds University, added: “This is great recognition for a simple but a forgotten idea – that we can build houses that are affordable while also protecting our environment and building a strong sense of community and right here in Leeds.”

Lilac plans to use an innovative construction system called Modcell which puts straw bales inside a timber frame to create super-insulated wall panels.

The project says it is committed to building with Modcell because the straw will be sourced from Yorkshire farmers, bills will be reduced by around 80 per cent and an average three-bedroom house will lock up nearly 50 tonnes of carbon emissions.

Members of the local community will be invited to help build the strawbale walls this autumn in a nearby farmer’s barn.

Lilac’s architect, Craig White, co-founder of Modcell and director of architecture practice White Design, said: “Lilac is a great model for groups who want to design and help build their own communities at a price that they can afford. We look forward to getting this off the ground as one of the first real community-led low carbon neighbourhoods in the UK.”

Lilac is a co-operative society run by its members and “community agreements” are written by members on aspects of community life such as pets, working at home and electrical appliances.

Life in Lilac will centre around the common house which will have a shared launderette, food store, workshop, a dining room and kitchen, as well as multi function room for events and the local community.

The intention behind the common house is that by pooling resources, the environmental impact of the community and cost of living is reduced.

Lilac is pioneering an affordability model called a Mutual Home Ownership Society, whose treasurer Tash Gordon said: “This mutual model of home ownership ensures permanent affordability for residents. Every household pays 35 per cent of their net income to the society.

“Equality is at the heart of our model – you pay the same proportion no matter what your income is. And since you can’t buy or sell your house, there is no speculation. They remain permanently affordable for future residents and you get back most of the equity you paid in when you leave.”

Mr Chatterton said: “In terms of planning this is a landmark decision. It shows that Leeds City Council is actively encouraging community-led, affordable ecohouses, and this opens up the way for rolling out similar projects across the city and the country.”