For this year’s Housing Design Award nominations, TOWN is proud that two of our projects have been shortlisted – CoHut, Newcastle and Love Wolverton, Milton Keynes. Amongst the many projects currently underway across the country we are delighted to share the spotlight with them and look positively towards the results.

On both projects we have come far from our very first engagements with local residents to getting granted planning permission and now with everything moving full speed ahead, there is still much more to look forward to.

CoHut is the North East England’s’ first cohousing scheme which we see as an opportunity to diversify the housing market, increase choice and create positive social impact. TOWN has been supporting CoHut’s members with their vision since 2017 and together we are targeting Passivhaus certification on the project, which would make it the largest Passivhaus scheme in the city. The scheme comprises 25 dwellings of one to four bedrooms arranged in terraces around a shared garden, with a ‘common house’ providing a shared space to eat and socialise. Residents will also have access to other shared facilities including laundry, secure bicycle parking, guest bedrooms and a car club.

Our Love Wolverton project is a 115-home town-centre regeneration scheme, including 86 for a mix of private rent and discounted rent and a 29-home cohousing community for Still Green cohousing group. The scheme addresses long-held community ambitions for the demolition of the Agora Centre and reinstates the lost Victorian street pattern, reconnecting and revitalising Wolverton’s town centre with a high quality public realm including a new pocket park which will make this a place to welcome everyone living in and visiting Wolverton.

We are grateful that our drive to create genuinely good places is not going unnoticed and that these soon to be places will be exemplars for sustainable 21st century living. Wolverton and CoHut are just two of many projects in the works that embody our values and sustainable vision and the team cannot wait to share more updates on these as we progress.