Initiative Homes

16/06/2017

We have just been awarded a Big Potential Fund Preliminary Grant for are innovative housing project in Knowle West, Bristol. The accommodation will be affordable, inclusive and sustainable and part of the solution to Bristol’s housing crisis.

The grant will support us in getting the business ready for the investment that is needed to bring the project to fruition. This is a huge boost and we are looking forward to working with our friends and colleagues in Bristol and Bath Regional Capital in the coming weeks and months.

Ed Rowberry, Chief Executive of Bristol and Bath Regional Capital CIC, said: “increasing the supply of affordable homes to a truly diverse range of people is one of BBRC’s core objectives, and Initiative Homes have a new approach to putting social and environmental values at the heart of what they do. We’re delighted to be bringing our social investment funding expertise to the project.”

02/02/2017

Things have moved on considerably since our last post so it is well past the time to tell you all what we have been up to.

First, the bad news. Our opportunity in Yeovil fell through. It was not a huge opportunity would it would have been nice to get it under our belt!

So now for the good news. We have been looking at a rather different scale of opportunity in Bristol, possibly up to 100 homes! We are in early stages of discussing an option on the land with the City Council and We have put in a proposal which apparently, via the grapevine, has gone down well! We have also made contact with a local community organisation with a view developing a robust community involvement in the design stages of the project and are working with Bristol and Bath Regional Capital to apply for initial funding from the National Lottery.

All of this seems to be gaining momentum, so at some point in the not too distant future we will be looking to formally announce the project, but until that moment rest assured stuff is happening...

09/09/2016

We visited the Yeovil site as guests of our friends at Somerset Care and Repair on Tuesday, just to get a feel for the job. Next step is to visit Beattie Passive and have a closer look at their build system - a round trip to East Anglia from the West Country, one to look forward to!

To be honest Beattie Passive, Somerset Care and Repair and ourselves all have similar social outlooks. If we can make the relationships work, then it would be something of a dream team for us. There is no lack on willingness, so we are very hopeful.

Certainly, the social aspects of the work that Somerset C&R are doing is most impressive and is built on sound relationships with local colleages, for example.

Looking forward to working through the details and getting formally started. Shouldn't take tooooo long... particularly as planning is already in place.

03/09/2016

Two Milestones, one meeting!

We had a really good meeting with our friends at Somerset Care and Repair this week. First, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to tackle the affordable housing crisis in Somerset and BaNES - the operational area for Somerset Care and Repair - and, secondly, we began our first collaboration together!

We agreed to work on three small, single story, one bed units. OK it is not going to solve the housing crisis, but you would be amazed at how many people there are out there looking for this type of property!

The aim is to build them to a good standard - hopefully, PassivHaus - make them accessible and affordable. Somerset Care and Repair intend to rent them out as part of a development in Yeovil that includes a pub conversion and these new units.

For Initiative Homes we are no longer talking about doing something - actually are doing something and it feels good..!

21/06/2016

Had a really good meeting with Beattie Passive (http://www.beattiepassive.com/) at the National Self Build and Renovation Centre over the weekend. Passivhaus standards, plus low start up costs and a training courses to get started all make their offer very interesting to a socially minded developer like ourselves.

Looking forward to further discussions as we start to firm up on potential projects. It feels as if things are really starting to fall into place.

09/05/2016

We are proud to announce that we are supporting the Schumacher Institute's first in a new series of conferences on the theme of People Matter:

Designing Environments As If People Matter?

This will be held in London on the 15th November. Tickets can be booked through the MEM website.

http://mem-events.com/event-people-matter-designing-environments-as-if-people-matter-10.

The Schumacher Institute for Sustainable Systems has teamed up with longstanding conference organisers MEM, to launch a London-based conference series under the banner of "People Matter," by choosing to focus on Built Environments - as a continuation of E.F Schumacher's seminal work "Small Is Beauti...

05/05/2016

Paul Fletcher, a former member of the RIBA counsel, as just joined our team. He bring a wealth of experience, forward thinking and very much focused on communities and wellbeing in the built environment. Welcome on board Paul.

24/03/2016

If 2 degrees is dangerous what are we really leaving to our children and grand children... Nothing good it seems.

James Hansen and 18 leading climate experts warn in a new peer-reviewed study that even stabilizing at 2°C warming might lead to devastating glacial melt, multi-meter sea level rise, and super-extreme weather.

08/03/2016

Attending a Voscur Social Enterprise event this afternoon at the Vassall Centre in Bristol. The last event Voscur ran was very well attended and the venue is highly accessible. So all in all should be a good workshop. Looking forward to it.

05/03/2016

We'd like to welcome Steve Maslin, one of our experienced Architects and a registered access consultant, to the Board of Directors of Initiative Homes. In addition to his considerable experience and knowledge of the construction industry this move this recognises his undoubted committment to Initiative Homes and The Schumacher Institute. Welcome aboard Steve.

04/03/2016

Attended a Bristol Green Capital Partnership / Crowdfunder workshop on Tuesday. Found it to be very inspiring and looking forward to getting ourselves into a position to go for a Community Share Issue. Sometime off, but have a target in mind of late Autumn this year.