Securing the right site is a key milestone for community-led housing groups. In fact finding a site (or not finding one) is often the make-or-break milestone for many projects. And it’s a hard task - we’re not going to lie. However, a focused core group, and clear understanding of what you are looking for, and knowing where and how to search can make all the difference.

We (KIN) spoke, alongside Cohousing Harrow, at the UK Cohousing Network's 'Cohousing Café' on 24th Jan 2022 - discussing how to find the right site for your project, including tips on forming and manage your group; how to write site finding criteria; how to search for potentials sites; how to analyse sites; ideas for how you can structure site-related workshops with your group; and things to consider when bidding for sites.

It was a really enjoyable session, including a great Q&A discussion at the end with a range of community groups across the UK sharing their experiences of finding and bidding on sites.

You can download our slides here, including the useful checklists and templates below. Let us know if you use them or have suggestions about how we might improve them - we love hearing feedback from groups.

You'll also be able to watch a recording of the session on the UK Cohousing Network website soon.

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If you need help securing a site for your community led housing project, do get in touch - we’d be happy to find a time for a chat.