Plans to build affordable homes at a cohousing scheme in Bridport will go ahead after an agreement was made at the eleventh hour – and after the community rallied to raise a quarter of a million pounds for it to go ahead.

Bridport Cohousing, a community-led housing group, is now able to forge ahead with the first phase of its plan to build 34 affordable, sustainable homes near Bridport Hospital in North Allington.

The homes, bought in a shared ownership at 80 per cent of open market value, will comprise of 17 for sale and 17 for rent. 

The plans are nine years in the making, during which there have been four years of negotiations with Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust.

Now, the Department of Health has authorised the agreed access arrangements for the cohousing site, which is next door to the hospital.

The decision came just days before the deadline for purchasing the land – without the NHS access agreement in place, the project would not have been able to proceed.

The group also faced a gap in funding due to the delays, and found that it had to raise more than £250,000 to secure the land. Members publicised a loan offer and the amount was raised within three weeks.

Bridport and Lyme Regis News:

PROGRESS: Phase one can now go ahead

Bridport Cohousing member Rose Harris said: “What a rollercoaster, and how amazing it is to know that we have so many supporters out there who believe in what we are trying to achieve and are willing to help us to make it happen.

“I am very relieved and extremely pleased to hear that the relevant agreements are all signed, at last, with the NHS and landowner, after a painfully long wait. So the group moves in to a new phase of the journey which seemed so straightforward nine years ago.”

The cohousing group was first given planning permission in 2016 to build 34 affordable homes and a common house on land to which they had been granted an ‘option to purchase’ from a Bridport family who had wanted the site to be sold to a community project.

The neighbourhood has been designed by its members to provide a more environmentally sensitive approach to living on a modern housing development, according to Bridport Cohousing.

Fellow group member Katy Marshall said: “I always believed in the ethos, shared values and goals of this group in bringing a community together to live in a way that benefits us all, not just looking out for ourselves as individuals. I am particularly excited about living in a more environmentally aware way, sharing resources, knowing my neighbours and contributing to ideas and projects that will support and be of benefit to Bridport’s community as a whole.’’

Phase two of the scheme will see a further 28 homes built, from one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom family homes, and additional green space.

The group is seeking new members.

For more information, visit bridportcohousing.org.uk or contact 07907 993 587.