The story behind the new cohousing project in Leeds helping residents live sustainably

Chapeltown has long been the Leeds hub for community spirit and tight-knit neighbourhoods, but a group of Chapeltown natives are taking this to the next level with the creation of the housing project ChaCo.

Inspired by Bramley's cohousing project Lilac, ChaCo is the new community of homes being built on Leopold Street, aiming to bring together residents through communal dining spaces and meals, shared resources and group activities.

Each with their own private accommodation within the development, those set to live there will share out the responsibilities of chores to maintain the shared spaces, as well as help to grow food and supplies within ChaCo's allotment.

Bill Phelps, a long term resident of Chapeltown and member of the cooperative helping to build ChaCo, was first introduced to the notion of cohousing through a newspaper article over a decade ago.

"There was an article in The Guardian about cohousing, and some of us went down to look at a cohousing project in Stroud and we really liked it. We thought, let's see how we can organise ourselves to do something similar."

Taking what he saw in Stroud back to Chapeltown, Bill and several other members of the community got to work planning how they could create a similar project that would not mirror other cohousing projects, but instead reflect the nature of the place they call home.

"We thought a community-led project that was designed by and for people who lived in Chapeltown would be the way to go," said Bill.

"It was important that it should reflect Chapeltown and its whole nature, so it was important that it was diverse and as affordable as we could make it."

It is ChaCo's core values of diversity, community and sustainability that has made it appealing to so many people in Leeds already, with all 33 houses contracted to a family or individual before the site is even finished.

Now edging towards an autumn completion date, ChaCo has installed the doors, windows, roofing and renderings to each home in the neighbourhood, ensuring that they achieve AECB standard to create some of the lowest energy bills in Leeds.

But the vision taking shape this year took a long time, with over a decade of researching, planning and building going into the project seen now.

"It started off as about half a dozen of us," Bill explained.

"We did some brainstorming about what it should feel like and once we did that we started broadcasting our ideas and posting it around, seeing who else was interested in the project with the same kind of values.

"From that we started building up the group at the same time as getting the expertise and professional advisors we needed."

Twelve years on ChaCo is fast becoming a reality, with only a few months left before residents will begin to move into the neighbourhood and participate in a shared lifestyle that stimulates camaraderie.

"There are very few [cohousing projects] in the country but knowing there was another one in [Bramley] gave us encouragement to do this ourselves," Bill said.

"We’ve lived [in Chapeltown] for a long time because we really do appreciate it, but we’re also aware that we've received a lot from Chapeltown so we want to give something back."

ChaCo is set to be completed this autumn, with all houses in the development already contracted. For more information please visit www.chapeltowncohousing.org.uk.