Cirencester Cohousing

Cirencester Cohousing Group is at an early stage of developing a scheme of 32 residential units with shared facilities on a site which is part of a large extension to Cirencester.

The group is seeking to provide housing for people with a wide range of ages, tenure and ability, to create a close knit community of residents with a shared goal of creating an improved quality of life through living and managing the development together. Each household has a self-contained, private home and the use of shared facilities. Residents come together to manage their community, share activities and regularly eat together, whilst being part of the wider community.

Cohousing is a way of resolving the isolation many people experience today, recreating the neighbourly support of the past.

Typical of cohousing schemes, the layout includes:

• Central pedestrian street for safe play and community activities
• Acess road and parking on the periphery
• Common House with shared facilities for cooking, eating together, entertainment, creative activities and socialising at the heart of the community
• Shared gardens for play and growing produce.

The group is keen to have low energy consuming dwellings and would like to see the houses certified to the Passive House standard with on-site energy generation