Affordable Housing

Building homes for your community

Why build homes?

‘If the purpose of housing was understood as building homes and communities, not merely building accommodation with bricks and mortar, the whole nature of the industry would be changed.’– Justin Welby, Reimagining Britain: Foundations for Hope.

The housing system in the UK is often described as ‘broken’ and people are suffering. Everyone seems to know someone who is feeling the pain of housing that causes more issues that it solves – both to individuals and communities. All around us we see the impact of inadequate housing in both quality and quantity. Local churches have an opportunity to respond to this. With underused land and assets, housing can be created that can help strengthen communities as well as delivering the mission of the church and providing ongoing financial support.

Getting involved in housing, and enabling communities to take part or lead on projects that provide solutions to issues that people are facing directly, is a highly tangible way to invest in a community and be a part of growth and enrichment.

Undertaking the challenge of a housing project can provide inspiration and leadership to other churches and communities that might be thinking about doing something similar. The landscape of housing in the UK will not change without disruption.  Sometimes people need to see what is possible before taking it on themselves and making the most of the opportunities presented in their location.

Providing housing can embed the local church into the community with social action that demonstrates commitment to that community.  Relationships built in the process of a housing development can last well beyond the completion of the project.  For example, after working with local charity Nightsafe to provide housing in their former parish hall for young people at risk of homelessness, St Silas, Blackburn are now exploring providing mentoring schemes for the charity.

What solutions are already out there and are they relevant for our community?

Responding to the needs of a community and providing housing can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Many are tried and tested, including selling land to a developer, creating almshouses and building/purchasing homes for staff of the church. However, there are some other considerations with their own benefits that you may not have considered. We thought we’d outline these to you here.

Meanwhile Use

‘Meanwhile Use’ is a term used to describe the interim temporary use of vacant property such as a hall, a church or land until it can be brought back to more permanent use. Meanwhile Use makes practical use of assets that may have an alternative use identified in the long term and allows a church to use an underutilised asset for housing. This would also enable the church to consider if housing is a long-term option.

For example, Ilford Salvation Army are providing supported accommodation for people at risk of homelessness on land which is going to be redeveloped in about five years. By using innovative building methods, they were able to build a cost-effective building which can be moved elsewhere at a later date. Find out more in our case study.

Guardian Schemes

A good example of meanwhile use is Guardianship Schemes. Where buildings such as vicarages, offices or churches are vacant for a period, they can be used as short-term accommodation that is low-cost for the tenants. Whilst these schemes do not provide a direct income from the lease of the property there are financial benefits including cost mitigation for security, maintenance, third party management, NNDR and insurance premiums. Shelter provide some information on this kind of provision here. Dot Dot Dot Property are an interesting example provider as they combine housing provision with volunteering.

A Diocese in Essex used a property guardian scheme to increase security and make the best use of a former school building while it awaited conversion into permanent housing. As a result, fifteen guardians received affordable accommodation. Find out more here.

Working in Partnership

Churches often either sell land or enter partnerships with Registered Housing Providers or housing developers to secure a land value, as well as deliver affordable housing. In some circumstances additional or replacement church facilities and accommodation are also created. Other times, where the church wants to deliver high percentage of affordable housing and where land values are low the church may not secure a capital income from any sale. An alternative approach is to allow the land to be used to develop community led housing, where a community group delivers the housing the area needs themselves, increasing accountability and control for the community.

Anniesland Methodist Church had a small, ageing congregation, and maintaining a large building was difficult. They approached Sanctuary Scotland – a housing association – to see if they would be interested in a partnership to redevelop the site. They designed a new church, and above it, Sanctuary were able to build twenty-four social rented homes for over fifty-fives. Find out more in our case study.

After realising the desperate need for affordable housing in their area, members of Churches Together in Keswick set up Keswick Community Housing Trust. With land from St John’s church they were able to house eleven local families at a genuinely affordable rate. Find out more in our case study.

Using Air-Rights

Housing can be developed via Air-Rights Building, using the space above buildings to build accommodation whilst retaining access to and ownership of the land by the church. Car parks can provide an ideal opportunity to develop accommodation utilising the air rights whilst retaining both ownership of the land and full access to the car parking facilities. A developer may fund the project up front which may be attractive for the church which may not have ready access to funding.  Air rights for a minimum of 30 years would be required in most circumstances but this could differ depending on size of the scheme, location and rent levels. Some of this accommodation could be reserved for specific groups at need of accommodation or for church use. At the end of the lease, units may be removed or could be purchased by the church.

The council, YMCA, and local churches and community groups in Bristol have worked together to deliver an innovative scheme which uses the air rights above a car park to provide eleven new homes through the modular housing solution Zedpods. This makes the housing much more affordable as land prices are one of the biggest costs. Find out more on their website.

Conversion

From time to time, church properties that were once needed by the church are no longer required – such as vicarages, halls, offices and main church building. Conversion into residential accommodation allows use of these assets in a way that can provide affordable housing and an income to the church and deliver ongoing sustainability for the location.

Christian charity Housing People, Building Communities converted the disused St Bernard’s church in Toxteth into eleven houses. They kept them affordable by asking potential residents to contribute to the building work – whether through building themselves or doing bookkeeping or photography. This also helped them develop bonds with their neighbours a year before they moved in. Find out more on our blog.

Use of Empty Properties

Empty or redundant properties can be brought back into use in a collaborative approach between professionals and church volunteers. Prospective tenants can be encouraged to help with the renovation of their future home. Conversion of an empty church manse into affordable housing can be relatively straightforward and can be done as a meanwhile use, or permanent solution with a housing association or developer.

One Roof Leicester use empty properties to house people at risk of homelessness. They work extensively with churches, including using one former vicarage and working with church volunteers to renovate and redecorate their properties. Find out more in our case study.

Micro-Housing

Small homes (known as micro-housing) can be developed that are focused on shorter term accommodation (up to 5 year tenancies for example) and respond to the need of people who are not yet able to access the private rented or ownership sector of housing but do not require supported accommodation. See our case study on the Hope Community Church in Bristol as an example.

Modern Methods of Construction

Innovative construction such as MMC (modern methods of construction) can also be used, where the accommodation is built out to a certain extent in a factory setting and brought to site fully or part pre-built. The accommodation may be leased for a fixed period and is another example of a meanwhile use solution, while also being able to be used long term with units designed to last 60-80 years in many cases.

In 2015, the YMCA trialled their first factory-built move-on housing scheme using a model called Y:Cube. This shortened construction time and reduced costs considerably. Read an article about it here.

Carbon-Neutral

Creating carbon-neutral homes is often a very complimentary aspiration in line with church mission. There are many ways in which to approach this aim, and various methods can be applied to other housing solutions making use of church land and assets. Using this approach to a development can increase initial financial costs but greatly benefit the impact on the environment as well as the longer-term financial running costs of the building.

The Diocese of Worcester have been building parsonages to the Passivhaus standard for the last decade. As they said, ‘We are called to be stewards of our world and a big part of that is looking after it, for us and for future generations. There are resources to use, but these should not be abused. These houses were designed to be a statement of not only what could be done, but also what should be done.’ There are many architects who specialise in sustainable building, including ZEDHomes.

Which churches can consider using innovative built solutions?

Every church can consider using innovative built solutions to create homes for their local community and beyond.

Churches with underused land in their control

Often churches are aware of the land around their buildings that is underused. However, over time, land which is legally owned or controlled by the church is forgotten. A survey of the proposed site will establish boundaries. A Report on Title should also be considered if there are any concerns or ambiguity on ownership or restrictions such as covenants. In many cases, especially with Anglican churches, the site in mind has mixed ownership between the local church and diocese (as with parsonage and glebe land). This complexity needs consideration when making plans for the site and any change of use. It is recommended that if there is any uncertainty professional legal advice is sought.

It is also worthwhile speaking to your local planning department or reviewing local planning and regeneration documents about their plans for the area that will be available online.

Churches with underused buildings in their control

In a similar way, buildings that could be used differently may be obvious however it is worth looking beyond what seems clear to establish if buildings could be used in different ways for the benefit of both the church and community. An audit would be useful here too, as well as conversations with architects and/or developers that may be more familiar with change of use options.

Once the church has audited the site and the relevant titles, initial enquiries can be made to the local planning authority along with discussions with potential development partners.

Churches with the funds to purchase an asset to be used as housing 

While this guide will not be covering this method of provision of housing in any depth, church investment in housing is another way that churches can get involved. Hope into Action and Green Pastures both provide models of investment for churches that are able and want to take on housing this way.

Assessing the possibility

Before diving into a vision, it can be helpful to pause and take a view on whether the individual church is in a good position to develop a concept. A simple audit tool for this has been created by Ten Spires and is available here.

Where do we start?

Be ambitious! ‘If it doesn’t work, it’s not the end of the world’ – Rev Sheelagh Aston, St. Silas, Blackburn

Vision and Aims

It can be easy to get into the detail of the process of development and miss this crucial part of the journey.  As a church and community, it is important to start to set out what the key principles of any development that you might undertake should hold and what the purpose of making this change is. For some it will be about raising much needed funds for the church, and for others it might be more about addressing social injustice or a broader Christian mission. For many, the aims will be both and more. Being clear about this from the start simply means that you are more likely to succeed.

This stage presents a great opportunity to engage the community – understanding both the challenges that people are experiencing with regards to housing as well as their aspirations for the area and community resources needed.  One way to get people involved from an early stage and an equal footing is to run a vision workshop (example here) that includes people and representatives from the community from a wider base than those already connected to the church. Ideally there would also be an overlap between the community members that are included and the target beneficiaries of any development.

Questions to be considered in this phase might include:

Looking at ‘why’:

• What problem are we trying to solve?
• Who will this scheme be for?
• How do we know that a change/development/housing is needed?
• How involved will the community be?
• What will the benefits be for the church as well as the community?
• How much involvement do we want over the life of the development process?

Checking in:

• What assumptions are we making at this point?

Looking at homes and land in more detail:

• Will any homes be for sale or rental?
• Do we want any housing created to be ‘affordable’?
• Do we want to retain the asset?
• Do we want to retain an interest in the scheme even if the asset is not fully retained?
• Do we want a land receipt from the asset?

Community Engagement in the Vision Process

Throughout the process of development, and exploring potential development, community engagement is key. For a church, community links are often a great asset and offer a rich opportunity to inform solutions, design and use of buildings as well as providing support and even much needed energy though the process.

‘Early and often’ is the term frequently used by those experienced in developing homes who see this value.

There are many ways in which to engage with local communities. It can be an opportunity to get creative too. People are more likely to share their thoughts freely and frankly when there is a trusted relationship – so this will rarely be a speedy exercise. Like every healthy relationship, these things take time and energy.

Questions to be considered when looking at community engagement might include:

• Who else should be ‘in the room’?
• Who will feel an impact from this change?
• Who might be able to support us in this process?

A useful guide can be found here for further guidance.

Getting support from this stage

Appointing someone to support the process – as part of the church team before the wider professional team is put together is highly recommended. In these early stages it can be of great benefit to the church team to have support in shaping the vision, ensuring the right people are involved and getting things moving. Project enablers can provide the necessary levels of confidence, advice, experience and capacity to allow a vision to develop.

Tension – Aspirations v Reality

A final note in this section is on the inevitable tension that comes from the aspirations attached to a vision and the compromises that will need to occur for it to become a reality. The transition from aspiration to reality is both necessary and healthy. Aspirations stretch what is possible while finding accommodations to allow it to become reality mean that what is ultimately delivered is the best possible fit for both church and community.

Noting this with those involved from the start is key, as it can be a difficult shift from one position to the other if not expected.

What do we need to do next?

Team and Structure

Once there is a clear idea of what the vision and aims are of the scheme, a core, local team needs to be put together. This ideally will consist of people both passionate and committed to the vision – and prepared to see it through and with representation from groups that would likely benefit from the development. Leadership buy-in is critical and so the team would benefit from the inclusion of a church leader/decision-maker. If there are people in the congregation with professional skills, then this will also be of benefit. Agreeing the framework for how the team will function can be prudent to help guide the group through any conflicts of approach and make clear how disagreements should be approached.

Volunteers that are committed to the church community and the project that have skills are a great asset if they can be fostered, but skills are not always essential. It is the commitment and determination that can make all the difference when things get tricky.

‘Most of us brought absolutely nothing to the table except determination’ – Keswick Community Housing Trust.

Project Plan, Timelines and Budget

A high-level plan including a desired timeline and estimated budget is needed to get things started. This will inevitably be something of a circular process as other elements of the project plan come to fruition. Engaging partners may change the details as might the design and planning process. Both should be considered, and it would be prudent to include generous contingency fund for these stages. As part of the project plan a risk assessment can be helpful to both outline areas of concern as well as opportunities.

More about risk mapping can be found here.

Appoint professional team

A professional team will normally eventually consist of an architect, building contractor, employers’ agent/surveyor and planning advisor. However, this may vary depending on any development partners that are engaged for the project. The timing of engagement of these professional services may also vary depending on the scheme and funding landscape. For example, if funding for the scheme is clear and securing it is straightforward then these services may be engaged from the start. However, if funding is unclear and smaller steps are required on the journey, then it may be appropriate to secure only an architect until the planning, stage and once further funding is secured, engaging the building contractor and employers’ agent for example.

Funding Strategy

Often the funding strategy for a housing scheme will depend very much on which partners, if any, will be engaged for the delivery and operation of the accommodation. By working with a Registered Provider of social housing there may be an opportunity to gain grant funding for a proportion of the scheme depending on its intended end use – for example, affordable housing, for social rent or as move on accommodation from temporary or supported provision. There are some funding sources to help support churches in the early stages of the development process and some examples of those here. Use of reserves if available and/or use of crowdfunding/donated support should also be considered.

It is important at this stage to consider the ties that come with funding. Grants normally come with conditions, especially where they cover capital costs. It can be helpful to keep the overall vision in mind when making partnership agreements to ensure that when the operations stage is reached it fulfils the aims and purposes of the development.

One of the key advantages of partnering with a Registered Provider or developer is they are likely to cover the costs to be incurred such as design fees, surveys and professional advice.

Design

This essential part of the development process offers great opportunity to involve the congregation and wider community. It is important that the vision, aims and the local needs of the target audience and community are taken account of at this early stage. Good levels of community engagement can help to ensure both a higher specification of building as well as an easy route through the planning process.

When St Bride’s, Trafford worked with Trafford Housing Trust to build a new church, housing and community centre, the inputs from the community led to vital changes based on their understanding of how they use their spaces. For example, the planned nursery was moved from the first floor to the ground floor because the parents explained the difficulties they would have if every buggy had to use the lift.

Use of an architect at this stage is essential, and ideally one that would champion the scheme and even provide free/discounted rates. There are many architects that have a wealth of experience in working with churches and church buildings and a smaller number that specialise in this area for projects that are looking to incorporate change of use or design of current church buildings, or creating new church spaces as part of the project.

Organisations such as Create Streets can lead the process of community engagement and workshops that can both help inform the design of the build and ensure ongoing engagement with local stakeholders.

Site investigations often involve a sketch plan to work out whether the project is viable and whether the site is suitable. This work will also uncover constraints, whether natural (such as sloping sites or poor ground conditions) or relating to local planning policy (such as density, proposal in context with surrounding neighbourhood and car/bike parking policies).

‘Before you design, make sure you’re got some quite clear ideas about what your vision and mission is – Rev. Andrew Baker.

Local Authority Planning Process

The Planning stage is all about working with a range of professionals to design your scheme and – for new build and large extensions – obtaining planning permission from your Local Authority.

Some projects will not need planning permission, of course. For example, if you are just buying and renovating empty or poor-quality homes, the planning stage may not be required.

The planning process ideally starts with informal conversations with the relevant local authority and an understanding of the Local Plans and planning policy, as well as local ward councillors. Then there are two possible next steps to gaining planning permission. First is straight into a planning application. There is a cost for this and more information on that can be found here. It is possible to submit a pre-application, also at a cost. This is a useful route for larger or more complex schemes where early engagement with the local authorities planning team can inform the scheme and approach to internal and external design, stakeholder engagement and local preferences unique to the area. It is also a cheaper way to guide the developments’ design as less work needs to go into a pre-application to gain guiding feedback. The work that is required for a full planning application can be considerable and if funding is not yet secured then a positive response to a pre-application can assist with risk management as well as securing funding later. Where the church is partnering with a registered housing provider, or another suitable partner, they may be prepared to fund this work.

Gaining planning permission can be aided by good communication around the issues of the current building, if there is a desire to demolish and re-provide as part of the scheme.

Anniesland Methodist Church in Glasgow was at risk of closure because of the financial strain of their building. The council worked with them to secure a positive outcome to their planning permission for replacing their building with affordable housing and a new worship space, partly in order to ensure that the church was able to survive.

Delivery

This is the build stage which depending on the type of scheme, will be the conversion work or construction of a new building.

If the church is solely responsible the works then it will need to appoint suitably qualified  professionals to oversee the build process from tendering the works to ensuring the scheme is built to the right standards, on time and on budget and comply with  planning, building and legal requirements.. This can be overseen by property consultants such as architects, building surveys to employer’s agents – appropriate contracts need to be in place to make clear the obligations to the church and requirements of the development.

Where the church is partnering with a registered housing provider or developer, the partner will tend to oversee this process. Regardless of whether a project is a new build of refurbishment, the church will need to ensure it is clear who is leading on what and there are clear and that there are regular lines of communication.

Handover

Once the works have been completed the project is handed over to the church or its’ partner. Again, either party will need to ensure the works have been completed in accordance with the contract and that any snagging (corrections to the works) is completed before final payments are made.

Operations

In many circumstances, a partner organisation will be engaged to manage the building in one way or another. Depending on arrangements they may own, lease or only provide management services.

Barriers and bridges

Planning permission

Many church housing projects get planning permission without too much trouble, especially when they are proposing high quality, sustainable development that is locally supported and delivers affordable housing. A church scheme can really benefit from getting the congregation involved in the project by attending planning meetings and providing letters of support.

It is important that the church appoint qualified professionals, particularly architects and quantity surveyors, to design any scheme.

It is wise at an early stage to get informed about the planning policy environment with advice from the professional team or potential development partner. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which sets the context for the whole country.

The local authority Local Plan, which is devised by the local council and must ‘have regard’ to the NPPF. The Core Strategy and any supplementary planning documents that look relevant, particularly regarding housing. There are also both general policies for the local authority area, more local policies that might be specific to the area your site is in, and even site-specific policies that might concern the site the church is looking to develop.

Neighbourhood Plans may also be in effect, created by local communities through Neighbourhood Forums. These again must ‘have regard’ to the Local Plan and the NPPF.

An architect and other professionals can help design a scheme that complies with all the relevant policy requirements. As one might imagine, this can become quite costly unless any professional advisors provide pro bono support – and caution should be exercised with ‘free’ provision; once a relationship has been established it can be difficult to end, so values, purposes and intentions with regards to the scheme should be made clear from the start. It can be easier in many ways to source funds to tender for these services instead and purchase exactly what is needed at each stage without any implied ongoing obligation. Where a church is partnering with a registered provider or developer then these costs may be covered by the partner.

Clarity of land titles is important at an early stage. Ease of establishing this will vary but if records are not readily available locally (within the institution) then details can be found here, usually for a fee.

Stakeholder engagement and neighbourhood relationships are critical. Get people involved as early as possible and keep them informed during the process. Having a strong approach to this element can help galvanise support as well as provide fundraising opportunities. Relationships damaged can be hard to recover from. It can be a great investment to spend time and listen early in the process and shape the scheme with the community and their needs in mind. A Communications Strategy can be helpful from an early stage in identifying key stakeholders and planning engagement with them, as well as defining key messages and undertaking situation analysis. An example from the Innovative Built Solutions programme can be found here.

Engaging with the mosque next door to the accommodation for young people they were constructing gained St Silas, Blackburn a partner who would later cook for fundraising efforts and for the residents.

Church Hierarchy and Permissions

In many cases, individual churches will need to obtain permission from other parties within their wider church structure. This differs for various denominations and it is important that individual churches explore this as appropriate to their context and at an early stage.

Continuity of leadership and working groups

It can sometimes be the case that when leadership of a working group changes there can be a detrimental impact on the project. If this is planned for in advance and succession considered at an early stage than this can be avoided. Life happens and events occur that can change an individual’s ability to commit to or input into a project. Ideally the project will not rely on any sole person to the point at which it may faulter if they were not able to continue for any reason. Setting up a Project Committee or having a Project Leader and Deputy might be helpful to protect the project through inevitable change around it.

Mission drift

At the start of a project the missional purpose should feel clear to all involved. However, over the process of time, different people and organisations getting involved and new information being dealt with, the vision of the scheme can drift. A strategy that can be useful to combat this is to include on the agenda the mission or vision of the project at the start of project meetings. It may feel a bit longwinded, but it can save time and frustration later if things drift too far.

Decision making

Getting everyone to agree on a way forward can be quite a challenge, and as a result it can be extremely helpful if from the start of the journey it is clear who holds ultimate responsibility for various decisions and at various stages. Much time and energy can be wasted if work is done without decision-makers being aware and subsequently halting progress once known.

In particular, partners often aren’t clear of which part of a church has the responsibility – the minister, a church committee or the denomination. Make this clear from the beginning.

Getting the design right

If your project involves renovation or change of design of the church space as well as creating homes, it is critical to maintain oversight on the design elements of this. This can be of importance when working with a partner for whom the church element is not their main focus. While housing may be the missional part of the scheme, it is a great opportunity to ensure that the new spaces for the church community work well for them, now and into the future.

There should be space within the design process to allow congregants as well as the wider community to get involved in the process. This investment in time and energy can make a tangible difference when it comes to supporting schemes through planning as well as potential for funding support.

Anniesland Methodist Church are now considering some internal changes just a few years after receiving their new building, because they didn’t think enough about the design of their new worship space at the time.

Clarity of relationships in partnership arrangements

Transparency is key, as is communication. If trust is not strong then the process can be easily undermined. It is important from the start to have an agreed understanding of the roles and responsibilities of professionals, development partners and the church in any development. Church leaders/members who started a project can leave before it has started or completed so having written agreements is sensible. Where a development partner is leading or where the church appoints a professional to advise them, written contracts will help to protect the church’s interest, avoid potential misunderstandings and deal with conflicts or poor performance.

Timescales

It is fair to say most new developments from conversions to new builds take much longer than initially planned for. Clearly, a development which requires planning consent will take many months before work can commence. Even where planning is not required, the time involved with consultation, design, appointing contractors and securing funding often means several months of work before a scheme is complete.

It is important to provide ample time for each stage of a development to ensure the right advice is sought, people are consulted, and risks are managed. For an uncomplicated new build, the quickest one can normally expect to take from feasibility to completion is 12-18 months. The planning process will typically take six months to complete, but if the scheme is controversial this can be extended, sometimes significantly.

Gaining Permission from the Charity Commission

When disposing of church land or assets either by selling the freehold or granting a lease, the trustees must comply with Part 7 (ss.117 to 129) of the Charities Act 2011. In order to meet the requirements of Section 119 trustees must take advice from a suitably qualified surveyor and achieve the best terms reasonably obtainable. If this is not possible but the disposal is a fulfilment of the purposes of the charity, they may dispose of the property to another charity at less than ‘the best that can reasonably be obtained’ subject to permission granted from the Charity Commission (see Section 117). The Charity Commission has published a guide on disposal of charity land as a useful reference.

Given the potential complexity of this subject it is highly recommended that legal advice is sought on the matter.

Early stage funding

When embarking on a development or conversion, at some point early on the church will need to spend some money on professional fees, surveys and designs. As previously mentioned, some professionals – such as architects – may work on a pro bono basis assuming they will be appointed when the scheme is confirmed. However, a church should plan on the basis some costs will be incurred even prior to working with a development partner or registered housing provider.

Where a church carries out its own due diligence on the site or building, secures some planning and legal advice and design input, this will significantly reduce the risk to a development partner which then ought to be reflected in any financial agreement between the parties.

There are various grant schemes available and some info can be found here and here.  The conditions attaching to a particular grant may impact on your legal structure, so do seek professional advice before making applications.

Where a church is working with a development partner, they will likely plan to fund the design and planning process, but even in this scenario the church will require its own legal and building professional advice to protect the church’s interest.

Partnership opportunities

Working in partnership

Many opportunities can be presented by working in partnership. Bringing in people with experience can help fill skills gaps within your team and help lever funding. In addition, unless the church is looking to manage properties long term, a partner will be needed to oversee on going operation once the development is complete. It is worth noting that partners will want the process to be as straight forward as possible – the more their values line up with the church/project, the more they may be happy to deal with complexity, but the more matters tidied up and clarified before the process starts, the better.

Developers

There are developers that have an ethos in line with and experience of church-led developments. Working with a developer can mean funding is accessed through their structure and other key professional services are included in the arrangement. However, the church involved needs to ensure that they have their own legal advice in the set-up stages to ensure that their interests are protected and that any agreements are fair and reasonable.

Examples of developers that have experience of working with churches (many others available too): Thornsett, Green Pastures and Hill Group.

The Mission, Hackney Wick was developed as a partnership between St Mary at Eton and the developers Thornsett.

Housing Providers

For projects that wish to develop homes for affordable or social rent, working with a housing provider be of considerable benefit. Housing providers bring experience of developing and managing homes and they can benefit by working with churches because of the ability to access land as well as the connection with the local community. If working with a housing provider, it is worth being clear on what the church’s interests and needs are from the scheme and being prepared to protect them and avoid mission drift in the process. Housing providers are as susceptible as any to changes to personnel and this can lead to an inadvertent change of direction if not monitored.

Often, local housing associations may be most appropriate since church schemes are often more complex than traditional development opportunities and require a longer-term commitment. Local community connections are helpful as are a common interest in the target beneficiaries for any scheme – look for complimentary vision and ethos to make a strong fit.

Examples of housing providers that have experience of working with churches: YMCA and Sanctuary amongst many others nationally.

Housing People Building Communities developed St Bernard’s, Liverpool through a partnership with the housing association Onward Homes. This allowed them to deliver the housing with an experienced, connected partner, reducing the time taken and the money spent.

Housing Enablers

Housing enablers tend to have the ability to draw investment into a scheme but are different to developers as they tend not to require the same level of profit to be taken from the scheme at completion. They are frequently charities or community interest companies. They will require that a scheme is able to cover necessary costs but will often work with the landowner (church) and lead the project through to completion.

Examples of housing enablers that have experience of working with churches: Habitat for Humanity Great Britain and Community Led Homes.

Kingsley Hall, Dagenham was created through a partnership between Kingsley Hall Church and the housing enablers Habitat for Humanity Great Britain.

Community Organising

Community led housing is a way to develop housing that has its community at heart. There are various methods to delivering housing in this way but they tend to start with community engagement and involvement, leading to the point where the community takes ownership of the development (if they haven’t initiated it from the start). Frequently the values of community led housing align well with church vision for housing and can make a natural partnership where a church has assets that they wish to use for housing. More information on community led housing can be found here.  

In addition, if the church is a member of a community organising alliance such as Citizens UK, the desire to create housing may be informed by the needs identified locally for more or better accommodation. When a church is considering a housing scheme, it can be useful to build relationships with other institutions locally to understand what action is desired and how any scheme might appropriately respond to that.

Examples of community organisers include: Citizens UK and Community Organisers

After realising the desperate need for affordable housing in their area, members of Churches Together in Keswick set up Keswick Community Housing Trust. With land from St John’s church they were able to house eleven local families at a genuinely affordable rate. Find out more in our case study.

Investors

This kind of partnership is about gaining funds to develop a scheme and comes with the understanding that a return will be delivered to the investor once complete. Some investors also focus on social impact and as a result may offer funding for schemes on an alternate basis; they might be happier with a higher level of risk if the demonstratable social impact is significant. Regardless, all investors will require repayment and a return on their funds.

Examples of investors that have experience of working with churches: Community Shares, Charity Bank and Triodos; as well as others that are willing and able to work with churches such as: Cornerstone Place.