Co-housing development proposals submitted

A planning application proposal to build a co-housing development of 19 homes as well as a communal building for residents has been submitted for York.

The plan, submitted by Yorspace, would see the the homes built on the former Lowfield School site being cooperatively owned. The document states that the properties would not be available on the open market, which “allows them to remain affordable in perpetuity”.

Yorspace added: “This is a key tenet of the co-housing model that Yorspace has adopted and the design process has factored in affordability criteria continuously.”

The application states that there would be a communal kitchen and dining room, guest rooms and a shared garden where fruit, vegetables and herbs will be grown. Flats on the first and second floor of the apartment block will have balconies and there will be solar panels on the roof.

The group said its design principles included building homes to the highest possible environmental standards, working collectively to lower residents environmental impact and creating homes that put community inclusion and cohesion at the heart of their design.

The application added details about the common house, stating: “The common house is an amenity building for the residents which will provide communal gathering and function spaces which will be shared between the 19 households. This reduces the needs of each individual household and encourages social interaction.”

It added: “From an early stage in the development of the project, prospective residents have requested that private garden space is kept to a minimum in favour of shared gardens, reflecting the co-operative nature of the scheme.

“Prospective residents have requested that a garden pond is included with marginal planting with plants to attract wildlife.

“There are 12 parking spaces, which equates to 0.6 spaces per dwelling. Parking provision has been intentionally limited as cycling and other sustainable forms of transport will be encouraged in order to reduce reliance on the car. In addition, car sharing will be made possible.”

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