Levent Kerimol

The first residents have been moving into their new homes in Ladywell, after RUSS achieved ‘practical completion’ of the main construction works earlier in February.

This is a fantastic achievement for one of the most ambitious community led housing projects of recent years.
The scheme pushes innovation in environmental sustainability, a full range of affordable tenures, various typologies, and most importantly community collaboration and resident empowerment in their own homes.

We have been working with CDS Co-operatives who will be delivering housing management services for RUSS, and acting as the Registered Provider landlord of social rented and intermediate shared flats in the new scheme.

Our director, Levent Kerimol, was involved from very early on, helping Lewisham Council think through their approach to community led housing and self-build, getting approvals, and running the council’s procurement process for an affordable, community-led, self-build scheme on the Church Grove site.

There is still work to do before all residents move in. The community will be finishing the gardens and the interiors of their own flats. However this feels an important point to mark, from one phase to another as the resident community bed in and we start to see the tangible community as these homes mature.

 

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NW3 Community Land Trust are overjoyed to have secured planning permission for their plans, forged alongside the local community, which will deliver 14 new highly sustainable homes, 8 of which will be genuinely affordable, including 2 homes for social rent and 6 for discounted sale.

Community Led Housing London has been working alongside NW3 CLT since very early on, helping with financially credible proposals, land transfer terms, and the intricacies of the planning process, as well as engaging with Registered Providers about taking on landlord responsibilities of rented units.

Co-founder and chair of NW3 CLT, Sanya Polescuk, said:
“I’m still somewhat in a disbelief that we did it but somehow we have planning permission! Thank you to everyone for your work, support, belief and perseverance…. This represents the hard work that local people and supporters have put in to deliver new affordable housing in the community we so cherish.”

Cllr Danny Beales, Cabinet Member for New Homes, Jobs and Community Investment previously said:
“As a Council we are proud to be supporting new and innovative methods for delivering desperately needed affordable homes and what NW3 CLT’s proposals will do is empower local residents to step into the role of developer and to lead directly on the delivery of more affordable and sustainable homes for their local community.”

The homes have been designed by Mole Architects who specialise in sustainable and community-minded design. The design navigates several site challenges including the steeply sloping site which is surrounded by mature trees. Situated in a conservation area, the design makes reference to the local vernacular of mansion blocks and decorative brick fronted buildings. The building contracts and expands in plan to create space for a shared resident’s garden and to provide south facing aspects to all apartments. ⁠The work on planning has been project managed by Altair and funded by the Greater London Authority on a repayable basis.

The Community Land Trust was incorporated in 2016 and has over 175 members from the local community who democratically control the organisation. Belsize Park and Hampstead are some of the most unaffordable neighbourhoods in London, and the CLT aims to provide environmentally sustainable and affordable housing, which remains in perpetuity. CLT developments are often for local people priced out of the housing market and can add to the range of affordable housing options in an area, broadening the spectrum beyond the statutory social and intermediate housing offer.

Affordable flats, social rental and discounted sale will be cross-subsidised by flats for market sale. Although the intention is for all tenures to participate in a neighbourly community, to make the most of health and wellbeing benefits, for instance through reduced loneliness.

The existing building was demolished in early 2022, having been irrevocably damaged by a fire in 2017 in which one resident tragically died. This site was significant for the local community, and leant itself to a community-led approach.

The hoardings at the front of the site currently contain a display of artwork by local young artist Megan Menzies entitled ‘Daleham Dreaming’. It depicts two sleeping figures wrapped up in patchwork dream blankets, with each patch containing a dream inspired from the community around Daleham Gardens. The project started with a dream post-box in which passers-by, residents, and children were encouraged to post their dreams for themselves, for the local community, and for the world.

 

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