TOWN is working with landowners in Oundle, Northamptonshire, to explore the possibility of delivering the UK’s first building group-style development.

A Building Group is a way of involving home-buyers from early on in the development process. More common in Northern Europe (and known in Germany as ‘Baugruppen’), it is a way of offering buyers meaningful design input to their home without requiring them to become designers or builders. As with cohousing, there is a strong element of mutuality in the process with an emphasis on collaborating with each other, and with the developer and architect, to co-design both the individual homes and the external spaces. The process supports community building and more sustainable ways of living and provides the foundation for home-buyers to later share responsibility for managing the development once they move in.

Our proposals will evolve and become more detailed as the project progresses as a result of engagement with the local community and most importantly future residents in the form of a Building Group.

If you’re interested in finding out more living in Millers’ Field please visit the Millers’ Field website for more information about getting involved.