Leeds Community Homes, set up in 2015, is a new, non profit-making organisation looking to step into the current housing crisis and start providing affordable and community led housing in and around Leeds. The first project of 16 affordable homes, as part of the new Climate Innovation District near Leeds Armouries will provide sustainable and affordable housing for local people for rent and affordable sale in the next 18 months. Working on from that first step they want to find more opportunities, working in local areas with communities to faciltiate and create affordable community led housing like Lilac (www.lilac-coop.org), and working with other developers and partners in and around Leeds to find and develop appropriate sites and buildings, including beinging empty properties into use as well as sustainable newbuild schemes.
Leeds Community Homes was set up by a group of housing professionals and pioneers, active in both affordable and community led housing in the Leeds and Yorkshire, with a mix of skills and drive to create an organisation to help step into the gap between communities wanting and needing to play a part in the creation of new affordable housing in their areas, and the existing agencies struggling to meet this demand.
As a community benefit society, Leeds Community Homes is not for profit and membership of the society is open to the whole Leeds community, and its assets are protected in perpetuity on behalf of the community it represents. Members and shareholders from the communities in which it works will be able to have representation and a say in the future plans and running of the organisation.
Leeds Community Homes is currently looking for investment to take forward its first project- a minimum of £200,000 is required as start up investment, of which around 50% has already been pledged (including match funding committed from Power to Change). Anyone can invest, with minumum shareholdings of £100 available through the ethical crowdfunding site Ethex. Details are available here: https://www.ethex.org.uk/leedscommunityhomes.
