UK: Developer the Hill Group and cohousing specialist TOWN have formed a strategic joint venture to scale community-led housing delivery across the UK, starting with a £50 million scheme in South Cambridgeshire.
The partnership, which aims to embed cohousing models into mainstream development, will initially deliver around 150 homes at Northstowe, a new town near Cambridge.
The scheme includes two cohousing communities, private homes and affordable housing. It has been backed by government housing agency Homes England, the site’s landowner.
Over the next five years, Hill and TOWN say they will focus on mixed-use neighbourhoods that prioritise sustainability, long-term stewardship and resident participation.
TOWN’s approach invites future residents to co-design shared spaces such as gardens, play areas and common houses. A planning application for Northstowe is expected this summer.
The venture builds on TOWN’s award-winning Marmalade Lane project in Cambridge, a 42-home cohousing community completed in 2019.
That scheme has a waiting list of over 500 households. Hill has also recently delivered a 100 per cent affordable housing scheme at Orchard Park, also in Cambridge.
Andy Hill OBE, founder and group chief executive of the Hill Group, said: “This is an exciting move for Hill as we step into the cohousing sector for the first time. TOWN’s community-first perspective to development presents a fresh and innovative approach that aligns with our commitment to creating sustainable, socially valuable communities.”
Jonny Anstead, director of TOWN, said: “This partnership enables us to take our proven model of resident-led development to new places and bigger projects, while keeping our commitment to quality and community at the heart of what we do.”
The venture will target sites in London, the East of England, the South East and South Midlands, working with public and institutional landowners to deliver housing with lasting social and environmental value.
Highlights:
• Hill Group and TOWN have formed a joint venture for cohousing
• £50 million Northstowe project includes 150 homes and two cohousing communities
• TOWN invites future residents to co-design homes and shared spaces
• Venture targets London, East and South East England, South Midlands
