New Consortium Teams Up with Housing Justice Cymru to Transform Former Church Land into Affordable Housing
FCHA is thrilled to share the news that it has joined forces with fellow South Wales housing associations to form a new consortium which will be working alongside Housing Justice Cymru to transform former church land into new affordable rented housing. The consortium is comprised of five housing associations operating across South Wales: Cardiff Community Housing, First Choice Hosing Association, Melin Homes, Newydd and Valleys to Coast.
For further information regarding the members of the consortium, please consult their websites:
- Cardiff Community Housing Association: www.ccha.org.uk
- Melin Homes: www.melinhomes.co.uk
- Newydd: www.newydd.co.uk
- Valleys to Coast: www.v2c.org.uk
The consortium has been successful in a tender process with Housing Justice Cymru to take forward the next stage of the organisation’s Faith in Affordable Housing project. This will see the consortium work alongside Housing Justice Cymru to transform disused and underused church land and assets across South-East Wales. To date, the Faith in Affordable Housing project has developed over 90 properties. By partnering with housing associations across Wales, the project will aim to develop over 1,000 homes nationwide in the next five years.
The new partnership will commence its work immediately, with a number of potential sites identified for consideration.
Gareth Davies, Development Director at Cardiff Community Housing Association and spokesperson for the consortium said: “We are delighted to be working with Housing Justice Cymru and believe that this new partnership will enable us to make a significant contribution of good quality, affordable homes in the South East region.”
News of this new partnership comes at a time when the call for more affordable housing across Wales has never been louder.
According to Welsh Government figures, up to 2025, it is estimated that there will be a need for a further 6,200-8,300 new affordable homes per year in Wales. Housing charity Shelter found that across Wales in 2020 there were over 67,000 households on housing waiting lists, illustrating the stark need for more affordable housing.
It is hoped that innovative and collaborative partnership working, as evidenced by the creation of this consortium and its involvement with the Faith in Affordable Housing project, will go some way to addressing this pressing need.
Housing Justice Cymru is a charity that mobilises church and other faith groups to respond to homelessness and housing need. The majority of this work has been through the provision of emergency night shelters. Over recent years the focus has shifted from the treatment of the problem to the prevention of homelessness through advice, support and critically the provision of more social rented housing. For the last three years they have run the Faith in Affordable Housing project supported by the Nationwide Foundation.
The Faith in Affordable Housing project has helped bring forward underutilised church and other assets to housing associations and local authorities. To date over 90 properties have been completed and there are a further 250 in the pipeline. The project has worked with over 28 different housing organisations across Wales and in 20 of the 22 local authority areas.
You can find out more about Housing Justice Cymru here: www.housingjustice.org.uk
