Glebe Meadow Co-Housing, Westleton
for Glebe Meadow Community Interest Company (CIC)

The Glebe Meadow Community Interest Company was established to buy a redundant Vicarage in the heart of Westleton, and to convert this into the social hub for a new Co - Housing development of 20 modern, age appropriate homes for locals aged 65+.

The Vision was to deliver a high quality, age appropriate co-housing scheme for locals over 65 years old, that promotes health and social benefits & supports independent living The scheme was to create an age appropriate development of 20 primary home dwellings for seniors around a shared social hub that:

• Creates a high quality, safe space that is vibrant, healthy and attractive for residents & that enables them to live full, independent lives for longer

• Is sustainable, using environmentally friendly construction materials that are highly insulated to ensure energy efficiency and low external heat requirements throughout the year

• Develops a key site within the village of Westleton which is within easy walking distance of all village amenities

• Delivers both market and affordable housing for the local Yoxmere Benefice community. Not only is there an identified need for more housing in the former Suffolk Coastal District (+10,900 over the next 20 years), there is a clear desire for ‘right sizing’ in the local area but very little opportunity for older residents in unsuitable accommodation – houses that are too big for their needs, garden too large, bath and /or stairs a concern, located too far away from village amenities – to move into smaller, age appropriate, modern bungalows.

• Delivers valuable economic use of the land, providing ‘right-sized’ homes that enable larger homes in the area to be released for families and younger workers • Respects and responds to the local setting and character of the surrounding conservation area, whilst increasing the choice of housing available

• As the area has one of the oldest populations of any District in the country, we believe this model could be rolled out in other locations in the District. The impact of an ageing population on housing supply and increased demand for specialist housing was considered to be a key issue in the Suffolk Coastal Local Plan

• is a community initiative that is attempting to improve local residents self sufficiency through peer to peer support via a co-housing model

• enhances the vitality of the rural community

• encourages residents to share facilities such as car pooling which will have a positive impact on the environment & reduce the importance of private motor vehicles

The final scheme addressed the original brief, listened to the wider community and sits comfortably as an alternative and innovative approach to specific housing delivery in the political planning landscape;

• The masterplan creates a high quality, safe space that is vibrant and attractive for residents. It makes highly efficient use of the area available and creates a series of different spaces for the residents to enjoy.

• The scale, form and appearance of the proposal is designed taking reference from the surrounding built context but is executed in a contemporary manner. The result is a scheme which respects its surroundings & reduces its impact on distant views but it also adds a new built form typology to Westleton which is of its time.

• The scheme opens-up the front of the site, reconnecting the site to the rest of the village while revealing and celebrating the former vicarage for all to see and also addressing a new access arrangement improving safety.

• The proposed dwellings are highly sustainable, constructed from environmentally friendly materials using passivhouse principles of airtightness and super-insulation while also applying technologies such as mechanical ventilation heat recovery, rainwater harvesting, solar panel arrays and community hot water production via ground source heat pumps.

• By sharing facilities and assets such as cars, minibus, laundry facilities, printers etc the environmental impact of residents will be lower than if they were continuing to live & operate separately

• The scheme is designed with the residents physical and mental health in mind. Healthy spaces are produced with consideration to high quality house-wide ventilation; good levels of natural light; and materials that do not off-gas and are VOC free. The scheme addresses loneliness and seclusion in the elderly population by actively promoting social engagement with communal areas for residents to congregate in and open frontages of housing onto avenues allowing neighbours to look out for one another and provide support and company.

• The scheme is designed as an inclusive environment to enable the residents to live full, independent lives for longer; The whole site and primary living spaces of the dwellings are wheelchair accessible and the dwellings are also future-proofed with the potential for assisted living.

see our Blog posts for more detailed information about this project: