We are a group of lesbians aged fifty plus who are trying to create a new way of living together as we grow older. We are building a caring, supportive and vibrant community, run on democratic and feminist principles, which will enable us to live our lives to the full, staying active and engaged, and continuing to share our talents and skills as we grow older.
We plan to set up a mixed tenure cohousing project of around 25 dwellings in north-east London. We will each have our own flat and our own front door, but there will be shared outside and inside space where we can come together for meals, meetings and other activities. Some resources will be shared, and our homes will be designed and built for low environmental impact and futureproofed for our changing needs. Every older lesbian in London has talked about this at some point, but we are doing it! We started the journey to our new home in April 2016, and we have made great progress.
We were working in partnership with L & Q, one of the largest social housing providers in the country. Unfortunately, L&Q have now advised us that they are no longer able to proceed with us at this time. Our relationships with the other development partners (GLA Community Led Housing Hub and Women’s Pioneer Housing) remain as strong as ever and we hope to continue working with them in the future. We are in the early stages of exploring new avenues with other developers.
We are looking for new Full and Associate Members. You can find out more about our vision for the project and the values which underpin it here, but one of the most important principles is that our membership should be diverse. We are already a mixed community, but we are actively looking for more black and minority ethnic members. If you fit the bill, or you know someone who might be interested, have a look at our Getting Involved page.