In 2020, a group of friends got together to start dreaming and planning for a housing coop. Bristol City Council were trialing a scheme to give unused council owned land to community housing groups. We got together a bid for the site in Rowlandson Gardens, and we were successful! This means that we get the land for free-ish, as long as we keep to the vision and plans that we laid out – for secure, affordable, eco-housing.
Living at furze
This is a vision in progress but our plans so far are;
A mix of communal and smaller dwellings. Our designs currently include a 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 bed. Each building will have some shared facility, a big community dining space (as well as their own private kitchen/dining space), communal laundry facilities or a small workshop for example.
Some renders of the designs we submitted to planning are below:
Will the shared houses look something like this? To be decided!
Perhaps the self contained housing will look like this?
We want to live in a sociable community vibe, where members are likely to come home to find and create music, chat, creative projects, games, films etc, as well as good food. We expect to cook and share meals regularly. At the same time, we will not always expect all of us to take part in these activities. We’re free to come home to our own private space (and to spend time being in communal spaces without feeling obliged to socialise.) Children and parenting are important parts of the community. We want children and some form of shared child care to be a part of coop life, though of course each member either adult or child will form relationships where they choose.
Joining prebuild
We intend that everyone who gains membership and contributes in the development and build will be offered housing in Furze Coop (if they are still members when the build is complete).