Cohousing is a housing community where the cars are parked on the periphery, freeing pedestrian space for community members of all ages, where each household has a self-contained home and access to shared facilities, and where residents have the opportunity to eat together and meet regularly in a large communal house.

 

We believe that people need both community and privacy. Cohousing is a way for people to live together so that they can have as much community and privacy as they want. The concept is simple and immediately comprehensible. It is a way for human beings to live together in a safe, independent and caring neighbourhood. We will no longer just choose a new house when we move, we will join a new community.

 

Cohousing started in Denmark in the 1970's, and possibly as many as 1% of the Danish population now live in cohousing. It is becoming popular in other European countries and in the USA where there are many cohousing communities and more starting. The term cohousing was coined by Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett in their book Cohousing, a contemporary approach to modern living, first published in 1994.

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At Springhill, all resident members have a say in the running and developing of the community and decision-making is by consensus, where possible. Monthly residents' meetings are held to discuss issues, allocate resources and arrive at consensus. There are no leaders, and all community issues are managed by volunteers. 

 

The buildings are well-insulated, timber-framed, low polluting and energy saving in design. Most have solar panels generating cheap, low-carbon electricity. Our three-storey common house has a kitchen / dining room for our communal meals, a sitting room with projector and piano, a games room for table tennis and pool, and laundry facilities. Outdoors we have a communal vegetable garden and orchard, a children's treehouse, a rewilded "secret garden" with firepit, and a workshop with communal tools for DIY and repair. 

 

We hold a Springhill fete in the summer, and every winter put on a play written and produced by the community. Various residents also organise a book group, choir practice, yoga sessions, weekly drinks and nibbles, film nights, National Theatre screenings, music appreciation evenings, boardgame nights, ad hoc parties and celebrations - the list goes on!

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Learn more at our FAQ page, the UK Cohousing Network site, or get in touch.