Rural Urban Synthesis Society

We are recruiting a new Chair of trustees! Over the coming years, the Chair will play a central role in engaging RUSS’s network and membership, giving direction to our future strategy and working with our Future Projects working group to secure new sites. With the successful completion of Church Grove, this is an opportune moment to reinvigorate our board and its leadership. Application deadline - 23rd August 5 p.m. We will invite successful applicants to interview by 30th August 2024. To apply for the role, send the following to info@theruss.org: - Your CV - A supporting statement (up to 2 sides of A4), setting out why you are applying and the skills and experience that you will bring to the role Feel free to get in touch with any questions ahead of applying by writing to info@theruss.org To arrange an informal chat about the role, contact Anurag Verma on anurag@theruss.org

RUSS is hiring! Having delivered our first ambitious community-led housing project at Church Grove in Lewisham, RUSS is looking for a Company Secretary to support our next steps. Key responsibilities include: - Liaising with our lenders regarding our long-term loan - Leading the process of applying for Registered Provider of Social Housing status: research and scoping, setting up and engaging with a working group and appointing consultants, to work towards making an application in 2025. - Engaging with our estate management company (CDS) to ensure that service charge and hot water accounts are supplied promptly and accurately Time commitment and renumeration: - Target start date: 2nd September 2024 - Rate: £250-£350 per day, subject to experience and discussion - Time commitment: 6 days per month To apply for the role of Company Secretary, send the following to info@theruss.org: • Your CV • A supporting statement (up to 2 sides of A4), setting out why you are applying and the skills and experience that you will bring to the role Feel free to get in touch with any questions ahead of applying, including to arrange an informal chat about the role – contact Anurag Verma (Chair) at anurag@theruss.org Applications Deadline: 5pm, Friday 23rd August

Our Church Grove scheme is reviewed in this brilliant article by Chris Foges in RIBA Journal. He tells the story of founder Kareem Dayes, who conceived the idea of a community-led project. He and a team of volunteers worked with Jon Broome, Architype, and Shepheard Epstein Hunter and Lewisham Council to turn a derelict patch of land into 36 homes. The article describes the development as: "A pair of conjoined four-storey blocks with crinkly tin facades and splashes of colour around the windows, nestled among trees, is more Amsterdam or Berlin than New London Vernacular. The difference is not just skin-deep. As a community-led housing development incorporating elements of co-design and self-build, Church Grove is a rather utopian project realised through the creativity and dedication of architects, residents and activists." "Some self-finishers took up tools and others hired tradesmen, but all those I spoke to appreciated the chance to shape their homes. For the architects and RUSS leaders, this is just one of the benefits of even limited self-build. Jon Broome talks of empowerment. ‘It engenders a sense of confidence in ordinary people that they can achieve things’, " The organisations that made the scheme possible include Lewisham Council Greater London Authority National Community Land Trust Network, Big Issue Invest Triodos Bank CDS Co-operatives Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) The Tudor Trust CO-OP EDUCATION FOUNDATION INC Locality Big Lottery Fund The Funding Network community led housing london Department for Local Government Span Charitable Trust The Screwfix Foundation https://lnkd.in/egReubhK #CommunityLedHousing #LondonHousing

The Chair of RUSS Anurag Verma has been interviewed by Jason Sayer at Architecture Today. He explains why RUSS was set up and the important steps that the organisation took to create its first housing project at Church Grove in Lewisham. One of the early challenges was finding land, always a difficult issue for community-led housing schemes. Luckily a site owned by Lewisham Council was available and following a feasibility study and OJEU procurement process, RUSS successfully bid to produce the multi-tenure scheme. The innovative co-design process involved residents working with Jon Broome, Sam Brown and Architype to develop a design with future residents. Architects Shepheard Epstein Hunter were then appointed to complete the scheme. Of the future for RUSS Anurag Verma adds: "RUSS is actively seeking opportunities to partner and collaborate with stakeholders to deliver new sustainable neighbourhoods for its community. We will shortly be reviving our school of community led housing offering workshops. We have started to monitor the air quality at Church Grove and polling the residents to establish the health and social benefits that living at Church Grove brings. At Church Grove, the Hub and community play area are available to the wider community. Our homes are affordable in perpetuity, as their price is decoupled from the market and indexed to RPI. With a variety of tenures and sizes we hope that Church Grove will remain a resource to our community far into the future." Since the Rural Urban Synthesis Society was founded 15 years ago the project has relied on the support of a huge number of volunteers. The Church Grove homes would not have been possible without them. It has also relied on the support of organisations including Lewisham Council Greater London Authority National Community Land Trust Network, Big Issue Invest Triodos Bank CDS Co-operatives Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) The Tudor Trust Co-op Foundation Locality Big Lottery Fund The Funding Network community led housing london Department for Local Government Span Charitable Trust The Screwfix Foundation #CommunityLedHousing #LondonHousing #RuralUrbanSynthesisSociety https://lnkd.in/e35ZYFcT

Our community of 36 homes in Church Grove homes in Ladywell, Lewisham, has been featured in London's Metro newspaper. The article points out that with homes in London costing on average over £700,000 home ownership is impossible for many. As a volunteer-led community land trust, RUSS Lewisham offers a different housing model. Because the properties are part of a community land trust, they are owned by a non-profit organisation, which keeps them affordable. The units are offered in various sizes and tenures: full ownership, part-rent-part-buy, London Living Rent and social rent. A founding principle is that the price of any resale is capped to prevent homes from being sold for profit. Church Grove will be a thriving community for living in rather than an investment opportunity for making money The homes are offered as self-build or self-finish, and the prices are adjusted to account for the work the residents put in. Residents received training in all the necessary building skills, and were supported by self-build managers, an architect, and a carpenter. Residents interviewed for the article include Rory Wakefield, a 31-year-old musician, He says: "I wouldn’t have been able to get a house without this scheme. It makes it affordable. I was born and raised in Lewisham, and I would never have been able to stay here without this scheme. It’s a very positive scheme. They should definitely make more – they need them." It has taken 15 years for the Church Grove project to reach its current stage, but now there are 36 homes people have started to make their own. The homes would not have been built had it not been for the hundreds of volunteers who have supported it over the years. It has also received essential support from organisations including Lewisham Council, Greater London Authority, National Community Land Trust Network, Big Issue Invest, Triodos Bank, CDS Co-operatives, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), The Tudor Trust, Co-op Foundation. Locality. Big Lottery Fund, The Funding Network, community led housing london, Department for Local Government, Span Charitable Trust, The Screwfix Foundation #CommunityLedHousing #LondonHousing #RuralUrbanSynthesisSociety https://lnkd.in/eyTw35V9

It's great to see our first community-led housing project (including selfbuild) featured on the BBC News website. We were visited by reporter Paul Hawkins, who spoke to residents who have built their homes (or are nearly finished) and have now moved in. The selfbuild process has been intense but families are now able to enjoy the benefits of their labour. The development includes a range of tenure types and prices, including full ownership, shared ownership, London-living rent and social housing. As well as building their homes residents have built a supportive and thriving community. A founding principle is that the price of any resale is capped to avoid homes from being sold for profit. The homes will be for living in rather than making money from property. Since the Rural Urban Synthesis Society was founded 15 years ago the project has benefitted from the support of a huge number of volunteers. Also, organisations including Lewisham Council Greater London Authority National Community Land Trust Network, Big Issue Invest Triodos Bank CDS Co-operatives Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) The Tudor Trust Co-op Foundation Locality Big Lottery Fund The Funding Network community led housing london Department for Local Government Span Charitable Trust The Screwfix Foundation #CommunityLedHousing #LondonHousing #RuralUrbanSynthesisSociety https://lnkd.in/eApy6UWF

We are delighted that Oliver Wainwright from The Guardian visited our Church Grove project and met residents completing their homes. His brilliant article explains the lengthy and complex nature of the process and captures the spirit of the families and volunteers who worked together to create a thriving community. The Rural Urban Synthesis Society was founded 15 years ago. Since then, the group has benefitted from the support of a huge number of volunteers. It has also been supported by organisations and funders including: Lewisham Council Greater London Authority National Community Land Trust Network, Big Issue Invest Triodos Bank CDS Co-operatives Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) The Tudor Trust Co-op Foundation Locality Big Lottery Fund The Funding Network community led housing london Department for Local Government Span Charitable Trust The Screwfix Foundation SEH ARCHITECTURE, LLC #CommunityLedHousing #Housing #selfbuild #RUSSLewisham #London #Architecture #Community https://lnkd.in/e7d-h7MW

Thank you Lev for those kind words and all your support over the years, wearing many different hats, and involving so many people. We are at the beginning of living in this new community - but we should all get together soon and remind ourselves of the story of how we got to this point! RUSS is drawing breath right now, and planning summer and early autumn events to invite everyone we want to thank and celebrate with.

We're advertising a role for a finance support volunteer to help our landscaping and gardening volunteers. Thanks to Charterpath and Marks Sattin for their support in matching finance people and organisations! https://lnkd.in/eNCZA-_P

We are so grateful for the expertise and personal commitment that Victoria Panting brought to RUSS, and for the support from the team at HUSH. We couldn't have got to this point without her! She has an eye for the significant detail as well as the big picture, understands RUSS's aims as a community land trust, and really thinks about the people who are going to live in these homes.