Our services

We offer new groups a FREE, hour-long online session to explore your ideas and give advice on the community-led housing process.

For existing groups or those requiring specific advice, we offer an initial - no obligation - chat with one of our expert team to talk through your needs in more detail and provide a proposal that meets your requirements.

Our hands-on advice and technical support covers the whole life-cycle of a project, from initial idea to homes on the ground, developing solutions that work for you.

Please get in touch with us - info@cohohub.org.uk - for more information.

Here’s how we might help

Getting started

• Exploring different community-led housing options, helping your group to develop a vision.
• Helping the group access early-stage funding to help with community outreach, develop group structure and identity, and undertake relevant research.

Developing the project

• Engaging with stakeholders - we can help you talk to the right people to make your project happen.
• Exploring whether a housing needs survey might benefit your community to fully understand the hidden housing needs of local people.
• Supporting governance: advice on committee structure, incorporation, insurance, bank accounts, and policies.

Consultation, sites and funding

• Helping you to carry out community consultations
• Helping you to acquire a site which meets your group’s housing needs.
• Supporting site appraisal, financial planning, and accessing funding.
• Offering expert planning advice.

Project planning, development and ongoing management

• Helping with business planning and financial appraisals
• Advising on project management and liaising with development partners, contractors, and Local Authorities
• Signposting you to legal and financial services.

We also offer tailored advice to Local Authorities, landowners, developers and Housing Associations

Local Authorities

We are delighted that Oxfordshire County Council, Cherwell District Council, Oxford City Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council are supporting our service through a Service Level Agreement. We are looking forward to building our partnership with them to create a positive enabling environment for community-led housing across Oxfordshire.

As part of this agreement we will: provide networking forums for local authorities to develop best practice in supporting community-led housing; send out quarterly briefing papers on what is happening locally to progress community led schemes across Oxfordshire; continue to provide outreach events in each local authority area to inform local communities community led housing; and continue our free, early-stage support for community-led housing groups.

As Local Authorities develop new Local Plans, Collaborative Housing can provide support for the creation of progressive policy support for community-led housing which is vital if there is to be a levelling up for the communities across our region.

Landowners

• Site appraisal: exploring the planning and financial viability of your site, investigate local housing needs, and help you demonstrate community support for the site.
• Finding a Partner Group: linking you up with a local community group to purchase and develop the site.

Registered Providers (Housing Associations) and developers

• Development opportunities: bringing you a ready-formed group with a site opportunity to help you deliver affordable housing.
• Negotiate partnership arrangements: helping you to structure partnership agreements specific to community-led housing groups to share out the risk and benefits of the development.
• Technical support: acting as a professional intermediary between the group and the housing association, to facilitate the partnership.

Please get in touch with us - info@cohohub.org.uk - for more information.

Further information

• Evidence for the cost effectiveness of our services