Planning & Finance

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Planning

Planning permission was achieved despite a number of hurdles, including a comprehensive legal document, a section 106 agreement, attached to planning consent. This success must, in part, be attributed to our location within Newark and Sherwood District, a Council with probably the most ambitious energy policy in the country.

The fact that the houses would be energy efficient was not sufficient on its own. The project had to be viewed in its entirety, as "a move towards Sustainable Development", which "could be seen as complimenting the council's own energy/environmental activities". Account was taken of the social provisions of the scheme -"(it) is not just for the houses in an isolated situation but as a whole living project...the occupants of the dwellings will work on the site towards a system of self-sufficiency through sustainable employment with low impact on the environment."

Section 106

A section 106 is a tool used by Development Control as a way of binding the applicants to carry out the development in the way specified in the agreement. Due to the unusual nature of the project, the section 106 took over a year to be finalised. The covering document has a signatory element, an agreement between landlord and council. It also clearly stipulates that "there must be a real and substantial connection between the occupants and the co-operative". Associated with the agreement are detailed aims and objectives of the project and a 'Land Management Plan'.

Tenancy

Each dwelling has an associated 999-year lease. Although the leases have a lot in common with standard leases, they have also had to incorporate elements of the innovative set up of the project. These include specific conditions, such as restriction on fossil-fuelled cars and an obligation to contribute a minimum number of hours to the cooperative.

Finance

We are frequently asked how the project has been financed. There were several issues at the outset:

Who was willing to financially support the project?

Primarily, the foresight, willingness and flexibility of Co-operative Bank & Ecology Building Society to work together overcame this first issue. The Co-Operative Bank initially provided loans, which were later converted to mortgages with Ecology Building Society. These two organisations specifically support projects with environmental aspects.

How could we guarantee all families would provide their share?

An internal contract was agreed within the group committing each family to provide finance up to a common stage of development. Each family had to separately fund their share of the work.

ow was the money managed?

Each family committed money to a common pool to fund their share of the work. A finance sub-group calculated relative payments and a position of equity was achieved on a monthly basis.

How was the self-build work of project members accounted for?

Members of the group undertook work according to their skills and an internal economy similar to a LET scheme took account of this contribution. This became known as the 'Hock' system.

Project Costs

To date the projects costs are remarkably close to the budget that was set over 3 years ago. Three-bed home (171m2) cost breakdown: