INTRODUCING COHUT.
Cohousing upon Tyne (CoHUT) is a group of like-minded Tyneside residents who want to build a cohousing community of 25 affordable, environmentally sustainable homes on Tyneside. Our members are of a mix of ages and household types, many with experience and expertise relevant to cohousing.
First coming together in 2013, we received funding and support from Locality in 2017 and Community Housing Fund support in 2019 and our scheme was approved by the planning committee in December 2021.
OUR VISION.
CoHUT wants to build a diverse, multigenerational community in which neighbourliness can thrive and which acts as a model for low-impact, high-quality community led housing on Tyneside.
Part of the neighbourhood.
By location and design, our community will be both a haven for our residents and an integral part of the fabric of the city, knitted into and engaged in the neighbourhood.
Affordable.
Affordability is important to us. We anticipate a mixed-income, mixed tenure community with privately owned, rented and shared-ownership properties customised to residents’ wishes, and with provision to ensure affordable homes remain so in perpetuity.
Low-impact living.
Our community will be built and run to tread as lightly on the Earth as possible. As well as low-impact design and construction, that means locating and planning our community to make it easy and attractive to walk, cycle and use public transport.
Shared facilities.
We plan to have shared facilities such as a common house - a place to come together and share meals. This building will include facilities such as a communal kitchen, laundry, workshop, guest rooms and multi-purpose activity space. It will be accessible to and managed by all residents.
SITE.
We are currently exploring the feasibility of developing a site in Benwell which has been offered to us by Newcastle City Council.
OUR SITE REQUIREMENTS.
We are exploring plans for a low-rise development of 20 to 30 homes in a mix of houses and flats.
SIZE.
Our site is approximately 1.5 hectares and benefits from bordering onto a wooded area to the south and west.
LOCATION.
Our site is 2.5 miles from Newcastle Central Station and well connected by bus to the city centre.
TERMS.
Newcastle City Council have generously offered this site to CoHUT, which will help make this project financially viable.
OUR DELIVERY PLANS.
CoHUT is determined to implement their vision quickly now that a site has been identified.
TOWN.
To ensure deliverability is built into our plans from the outset, CoHUT is working in partnership with TOWN as our enabling developer. Together with Swedish sustainable timber housing manufacturer Trivselhus, TOWN completed Marmalade Lane, Cambridge’s first cohousing community, in late 2018.
Already the recipient of several awards, Marmalade Lane is an exemplar for cohousing in an urban setting. Designed to integrate fully into the local street pattern, the development is being built to close-to-Passivhaus energy efficiency standards and future residents have been able to customise their homes extensively inside and out.
Mawson Kerr Architects.
CoHUT started working with Mawson Kerr architects in May 2019. We have been exploring feasibility on our site in Benwell. In 2020 we aim to reach Stage 3: Developed Design & Planning Permission.
Mawson Kerr are a Newcastle-based design studio focused on creating inspirational buildings with a sustainable agenda. They have extensive experience in various sectors including residential, heritage, education, commercial and leisure, and have received various regional and national awards for projects including Shawm House which, achieved Passivhaus standards.
