Start Up Support Programme

The Start Up Support Programme helped groups of local people or existing community organisations to develop their own community led housing solutions. The programme provided a combination of seed corn funding and 1:1 support to 98 projects in the earliest stages of a community led housing group’s development, to help them explore options for creating homes.

Projects worked through the first three developmental stages for community led housing – the group, site, and plan stages undertaking a range of exercises. This included:

  • Developing a vision, purpose and values
  • Determining their approach to community led housing
  • Developing their group structure
  • Decision making processes and membership
  • Determining the most appropriate legal structure
  • Training volunteers and develop group skills
  • Learning from peers in existing community led housing groups
  • Improving communications, including developing a better digital presence
  • Undertaking community engagement
  • Pulling all aspects of project development together into a business plan.

The programme has also been a catalyst for groups, supporting them to lever further funding for their projects and into their communities.

The 1:1 support provided ongoing professional advice with regular support and coaching providing extra capacity, expertise and confidence to drive projects forward. This led to plans for: developing new build housing, refurbishment of existing housing stock, and converting another building use to housing.

The programme took place between February 2019 and March 2021 and was funded by the then Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) through the Community Housing Fund. It provided £331,495 in Seed Corn grant funding and £243,751 in Support grant funding.

Report and Stories

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Report - Start Up Support Programme

The Start Up Support Programme helped groups to develop their own community led housing solutions.

Read the report of the programme
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Success story - It Takes a City, Cambridge

Find out how the Start Up Support Programme helped It Takes a City, Cambridge transform lives in their community.

Read about It Takes a City

Make it happen

Inspired? Find out how you can make community led housing happen.

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