“YorSpace can harness the power of the community to disrupt and revolutionise a housing market that no longer serves many in the city.”
Laurie, CEO of YorSpace
Alternative Housing
York
meet ...
Laurie and James
Our why
The current housing market in York is not fit for purpose as families and young people are being priced out of the city. The house prices have been rising and local incomes are not able to accommodate this. This causes many people to become caught in the “rent trap”, to live in otherwise unsuitable accommodation or to move outside York entirely. In turn, this increases pressure on already congested roads and harms York’s air quality. York needs a new approach to housing.
Our idea
YorSpace is a community-led housing enabler aiming to disrupt and revolutionise how housing is financed, owned and delivered in York. Whereas many community-led housing developments use a rental model, YorSpace will bring an innovative mutual ownership model into the market - a type of collective ownership where residents accrue equity. By working together, the community can fund housing in a way that is fairer to both residents and investors. In this way YorSpace will support both this first community-led development, but also seed a sea change in how people deliver housing in York.
We believe that through our pioneering approach, we can create a blueprint for ethical, community-led investment in development that can be replicated across other towns, cities and coastal areas.
With Footwork's support ...
About
Laurie and James to move forwards with two key sites, to tell their story on a wider platform and shine a light on the work of Community Land Trusts and the impact this has on everyday people’s lives.
YorSpace
Around 8 years ago, a group of local people, struggling to get on the housing ladder and faced with a lifetime of insecure private sector renting, realised that York, like many cities, was pricing many out of long-term affordable housing. They decided to do something about it, and the kernel of an idea formed: YorSpace.