Wales Co-op gets involved with CHC's fesTYval...

During the school holidays, we have time to consider where CHC’s recent FesTYval fitted into the summer programme of events. It began by cleaning up the unused Cyfartha School in Merthyr...

Yes, actually cleaning the school!

Delegates were welcomed by singing in the first morning session, plants could be bought all day, and popsicles were sold in the afternoon as the sun shone. The Wales Co-op shared a stand with Cadwyn Housing Association and all the visitors mingled.

Home Farm Housing Co-op featured in our exhibition as a pioneer pilot co-operative housing scheme in our support project. This support project is funded by Welsh Government and The Nationwide Foundation – the latter from their alternative housing funding programme. They are working with the international Building and Social Housing Federation as part of ‘Scaling up Community-led Housing’ which they describe here.

We are part of the Alliance across the UK, so the FesTYval in Merthyr was part of this regeneration. Ideas and messages from what used to be Wales' largest town, when coal and iron were exported all over the world, are again being used to promote Co-operative Housing across Wales and beyond.

I can’t wait for other CHC events in the Autumn, and trying to guess what and where FesTYval will be next year!


David Palmer
Wales Co-Operative Centre 

Co-operation housing helps build co-operative communities

At the Wales Co-operative Centre, we are running a Welsh Government funded project to utilise co-operative housing approaches to help meet the demand for affordable housing. We know that co-operative approaches lead to a sense of ownership and empowerment which lead in turn to improvements in quality. These principles are extremely important drivers for those social landlords currently engaging in developing this approach – increased tenant ownership and empowerment leads to reduced arrears, reduced void turnarounds and improved community and quality of life.

In West Wales, Grŵp Gwalia is working in partnership with Carmarthenshire County Council to develop a co-operative housing scheme near Carmarthen town centre that will see 27 new homes built.

In recent months, Gwalia has held events to engage with potential members to the Carmarthen housing co-operative. A core group has come forward comprised of people on the housing waiting list who believe they can bring something to a co-operative housing living situation. The site has also recently received planning permission.

One young family, which has been provisionally allocated a property on the Carmarthen site, told us why they've got involved:

“We are living in temporary accommodation for the homeless. It’s not ideal but it’s a roof over our heads. We had so many issues in our last property that Environmental Health said it was unsafe for us to live in. Also, there’s no security when you rent privately. Landlords can tell you to move out at any time. The housing co-operative offers you the chance to live within a close knit community, you know everybody and have the security of housing. You’re in a house and you don’t get kicked out for no reason - it’s all a plus to us.”

This development is part of a wider initiative, led by Welsh Government, where several pilot projects are being developed to explore the use of co-operative models as an additional housing option.

Amongst the other lead pilot projects are developments with Seren, Cadwyn and a Community Land Trust in West Rhyl which North Wales Housing is working with.

The benefits of developing co-operative housing approaches are many. They help to fulfil the need to provide more affordable housing. They offer a community led approach so are often more sustainable in the long term than other approaches. Co-operative housing developments are largely self policing, and their approaches are democratic and based on fairness and equality. Co-operatives tend to work together to look after their communal areas and are often able to manage the maintenance or maintenance contracts on their homes.

There are several different approaches which can be taken up when a social landlord is developing co-operative housing. Ownership can be completely devolved to the co-operative, ownership can be based on a long-term lease to the co-operative, and the social landlord can stimulate co-operative approaches to the management and upkeep of the properties.

In 2014, the Welsh Government pledged to increase the supply of affordable homes to 10,000 before May 2016. Co-operative housing has the potential to make a sustainable contribution to that target and to offer a long term and sustainable approach to housing provision, as well as to the development of local communities.

You can read more about the Grŵp Gwalia scheme here. 

David Palmer, Co-operative Housing Project Manager
Wales Co-operative Centre