Our Vision

We want to build a sustainable, mutually supportive cohousing community in the Stroud area. The scheme would be custom designed around the needs of each of our individual members. We believe that the optimum size would be around eight to fifteen households. We plan to build a range of apartments aimed at couples and single people rather than families.

All the homes would be very green with minimal energy costs. They would be highly space-efficient, as the residents would share many facilities such as a communal meeting/activity room and a kitchen/dining area for occasional meals together. There might also be shared spaces for work, craft, leisure and laundry, plus a guest room and a car share scheme.

The location of the project is important. We want to be close to local amenities like shops, pubs, GP surgery, etc. Good public transport links would also be vital. This suggests an urban/town centre location.

The development would enable many of us to ‘right size’ – freeing-up our existing homes for larger households. By working together as a community we won’t just build homes; we’ll build a supportive, integrated, active, and engaged group of neighbours. 

We are all willing to invest in good design, good landscaping, quality materials and wider community benefit. We don't want to create a ‘gated community’ - we wish to engage as individuals and as a group with the surrounding neighbourhood, both contributing to it and welcoming other local people to come and use some of our facilities. 

We believe that the scheme would be a credit to Stroud and would quickly become a beacon of innovative best practice, attracting visitors from far and wide to see and learn from what we establish together.

Next Steps

We are keen to develop a strong relationship with the local community, potential partners and council officers. We would be delighted to meet with housing and planning teams, interested Council Members and anyone who may have a site (or a building we could potentially convert). 

We are also keen to recruit new members so get in touch if you'd like to join our mailing list or attend one of our meetings.