Re: Getting fresh members-sounds a little grisly
From: Paul Milne (paulsmholyrood.ed.ac.uk)
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 04:34:14 -0600
Liz,

Thanks for your considered reply. I hope you don't mind if I quote parts
of your post back to the main list.

 Liz Stephenson wrote:
> It might help if you let the list know what stage you are in.
[snip]
> Also, I reread our correspondence from the spring...
> and wonder if you still have members who are not able to purchase without
> help.  It would be a good idea to try to find some method for them to buy
> or rent in your project before the process goes any further. Lots of
> groups have longtime members who have to leave right when everyone else
> is moving in, because they just can't afford it.  Find a way to include
> them, or not, but start work on that right away.  I am very partial to
> making cohousing affordable, and find the market rate projects, well,
> boring.  There, I've said it.

I'll try to give the group a flavor of how we're organising our finances
to include low income members (bearing in mind my own imperfect
understanding of the process), and lead into where we are in the process.

Right from the beginning our group has been planning the project on the
assumption that some members will need assistance to live in our community.

In Scotland this necessitates negotiating with three funding bodies:

1. Scottish Homes (allocates money from central government for
low-income housing)
2. District Council (targets money from SH to identified projects)
3. Housing Association (end-user of SH money. Will get houses built, either
for sale at a reduced price or acting as a landlord).

We have identified a site in Midlothian that we would like to acquire
from Midlothian District Council. Scottish Homes are happy with this
site as well, and we have a very keen Housing Association that wants to
work with us, and whom we are hiring to do a feasibility study on this
site. However, Midlothian have allocated their moneys for the next
financial year. On the surface this seems than we can't get started
before April 2000.

But because this Scottish Homes-District Council-Housing Association
money trail only applies to the low-income houses, and because they will
be at most a third of the total houses, it is possible that we can get
started before that date with building the full-price houses, or go
ahead with building them all with the promise of the money.

The membership thing comes in because we pretty much have enough
low-income members, and need to recruit many, many more full purchase members.

The question is, when and how? We are starting a campaign with all three
above mentioned bodies to convince this this is a Good Idea in order to
secure our site (on the edge of a village called Rosewell, near Roslin
Glen). But it will still be a wee while before we know if our charm
offensive is going to get us the goods.

> I'm curious, have you or your group been in contact with the other groups
> in the UK? The group in Devon seems to be moving along nicely.  Last I
> wrote to Divercity(London) they were all going to meet up on 29 November.
>  Are you going to that meeting?

Not me personally, but at least one member of our group is going along.

> I was very much hoping my husband would
> be transferred to London by then, but it's looking very unlikely.  Oh,
> well. Stuck living in cohousing in California.  Poor me.
 
Yes, you poor thing, to have to live in a hell hole like California.
 
> Someday I hope to come visit a completed cohousing project in Scotland,
> and to see you there!

Me too!

Paul Milne
Cohousing 2000
Where we are finding out more good things about Rosewell every day.
  • (no other messages in thread)

Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.