Witton Lodge Community Association: making a success of community ownership

Outcomes

Meeting housing need

Without the resident-led model of community ownership that has evolved into Witton Lodge Community Association, it would have been more difficult to find suitable homes for the 908 families who were displaced by demolition of the structurally unsound council properties. Potentially, most of the community would have been dispersed.   

Integration via Allocation

The first people to be rehoused were original residents who wanted to stay in the existing community. However, later other people from the City Council waiting list were offered new homes. By 2000 Witton Lodge Community Association was able to negotiate allocation in partnership with the Council and it now allocates 50% of newly built dwellings, which enables it to exercise more influence and pursue a policy of ‘integration via allocation’. Residents described, for instance, how they were able to sensitively house an extremely vulnerable family in a quiet cul-de-sac where there was a close neighbourhood community at hand to offer support and advice.

As one WCLA member says, allocating property is “not just about rent, it’s about what the new resident’s quality of life is going to be…”

The development is now coming to an end as the last of six phases is being built. Residents are proud that they have been given an opportunity to change the demography of what was once a solely white working class community and now comprises a diverse range of cultures such as Bangladeshi and Chinese residents enabling families to learn from one another other. The 226 homes in the final phase were originally intended solely for home ownership but the developer has had to change tack, partly in response to the economic climate, and it now has both home owners and people living in socially rented properties.

Witton Lodge Community Association is a non-registered housing association that now owns 167 properties including the 40 apartments at Sycamore Court Extra Care Scheme.

Beyond Bricks and Mortar

Partnership working - initially with the local church and later with other statutory and voluntary organisations stimulated a community development approach to the estate that worked beyond bricks and mortar to create a new sense of identity and belonging. Membership of different groups is growing, bringing new ideas to the estate. Evidence of a sustainable and growing community can be seen in landmark achievements that have come about through residents being in the lead:  

• The use of an urban village design, incorporating accessibility (prioritising pedestrians and cyclists), low cost heating, and traffic management.  
• The development of green space for community events and sport and leisure activities, and improved recycling facilities making Perry Common a more  pleasant place to be.
• The development of Sycamore Court as an Extra Care Scheme  for people with specific needs.