Homebaked Community Land Trust

Homebaked Community Land Trust concept design - entrance
Homebaked Community Land Trust concept design - entrance
Homebaked Community Land Trust concept design - rear view
Homebaked Community Land Trust concept design - rear view
Project date
19.12.2018
Type
  • Architecture
  • Consultation
  • Retrofit
Location
North West England
Clients
Homebaked Community Land Trust
Associated team members
Associated documents

Homebaked Community Land Trust (CLT) sits on the boundary between the neighbourhoods of Everton and Anfield in Liverpool, just opposite the Liverpool Football Club. It is co-owned by people who live and work in the area. Its sister organisation is Homebaked bakery, a thriving community-run business famous for its excellent pies and bread. Both organisations grew from '2up2down', which URBED were involved in as designers and workshop facilitators in the early 2010s. Since then Homebaked have worked - 'brick by brick and loaf by loaf’ - to save their iconic neighbourhood bakery from demolition and develop it to house the bakery and affordable residential accommodation. Its work is based on the simple belief that we all deserve to live well. 

In autumn 2018 the CLT invited URBED to work with them to develop plans for the next phase of their work, refurbishing the terrace of houses next to the bakery as part of longer-term aims to regenerate the local high street. We're using a participatory process - working with the CLT board, Homebaked stakeholders and local people - to develop designs for housing, business and community space within the block. This development will create affordable accommodation and space for people to come together, linked to the bakery building and the surrounding public spaces. We will be using our retrofit expertise to turn the 100 year-old terrace into a comfortable, warm and light-filled space that is environmentally responsible - enabling its residents to live well. 

 

 

 



 

Project blog

07.11.2019, 14:00
Fixtures and Finishes Workshop

At the end of October we ran a Fixtures and Finishes focus session with members of the Core Design Group. Armed with a variety of tile samples, render samples, and images of kitchen and bathroom fittings, we talked about the interiors of the housing units, and asked what others would like to have in their own home. 

The priority from the group was to get a set of finishes that were robust and maintainable/cleanable. It was decided that internal finishes generally should be relatively neutral – so that they don’t go out of fashion and so you don’t have to live with someone else’s ‘bold’ choices! Ideally it would be good to keep some original features where possible, but otherwise a simple modern and clean look would be good.

The feedback from this session will be really useful as we progress Stage 4 designs towards tender issue.

 

 

 

 

 

23.09.2019, 15:00
Energy Workshop

The Core Design Group and Community Land Trust came together again at the start of RIBA Stage 4, to discuss options for energy saving services within the emerging design.

Marianne from URBED and Jim from LEDA, our services engineers, led a Tuesday evening session focussing on the pros and cons of different systems. The workshop compared communal or individual supply, MEV versus MVHR, the sustainable benefits of electric heating over gas boilers, and options for allocating electricity from Photovoltaics.

Whilst there were some differences of opinions between the groups, overall it became clear that the most important requirement was a system that was simple to manage and use, and keep running costs low for businesses and residents rented units. The aspiration for reduced energy bills within affordable housing has been a key driver for the project throughout, and is ultimately one of the most important considerations in the design and service provision. 

 

 

Jim from LEDA explains the typical distribution of energy use within housing. On average a dwelling spends £1250 per year on energy.

 

26.07.2019, 15:32
Planning Permission and an Article in The Times!

Downloads

PDF icon 20190722_Times_Homebaked CLT.pdf

The last two weeks have been full of great news for the Homebaked CLT team. Planning permission was granted on 12th July for the mixed use development, and 10 days later, the project featured in The Times newspaper! The article looks at how developing run-down areas can keep communities together, and uses Homebaked as an example of a thriving Community Land Trust. 

 

17.06.2019, 15:03
In the Local News

The Liverpool Echo has released a great article about the Homebaked CLT scheme, featuring URBED's drawings, an interview with Angela - who runs Homebaked Bakery, and was one of the many local residents who helped design the Oakfield Road scheme - and before and after visions of the project. We should hear back about planning permission within the next few weeks!

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/how-derelict-empty-homes-blighting-16431515?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

16.06.2019, 12:55
Design Process

Downloads

PDF icon 1089-URBED-RP-A-Design and Access Statement - SMALL.pdf

From November 2018 to April 2019 we worked with representatives of Homebaked CLT and local people to develop the brief and the designs for the refurbishment of the nine currently derelict terraced houses next to Homebaked Bakery. We did this through a series of design workshops, drop-in sessions and meetings held in and around Oakfield Road in Anfield. We came into contact with hundreds of local people and we encouraged everyone to have their say on the proposals. You can see more about this process - what was said and done - in the Design and Access Statement submitted as part of the planning application in May 2019 and linked here.   

From the start it was clear that the focus of the project should be on providing a range good quality affordable homes, with concerns about space and daylight but also making sure that homes that are affordable to keep warm. The proposed scheme therefore includes 8 homes in total - a mix of houses and apartments - all of which will be fully insulated so that they stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. 

Keeping some of the history and memory of the place, whilst showing that things have also moved on, was also a key requirement. For this reason the proposed scheme makes limited changes to the front of the properties, cleaning up and repairing the brick frontages to Oakfield Road, whilst making much more dramatic chages to the rear of the houses where they look onto the local 'Rec' - an open space to the south of the block.

This uses different materials and new elements to change the appearance of the block - but all with a purpose. The external wall insulation covers the existing brick, but also gives the building a new overcoat, keeping it warmed. A new dormer roof extemsion clad in standing seam metal introduces a modern element but also creates more living space. New small extensions to the rear provide more space, but also outdoor space to some of the apartments. 

The planning application for the scheme was submitted in early May 2019. You can find all the details of it on the Liverpool City Council Planning Portal - search using the reference 19F/1231. 

 

 

25.03.2019, 16:23
Designing with the Community

Following URBED's work alongside Homebaked Bakery from 2011 to 2013, URBED were delighted to have the opportunity to help Homebaked CLT realise their next vision! A series of five community design workshops were held between December 2018 and March 2019, inviting local residents to contribute their ideas. This process is excellently documented within the Homebaked CLT blog.

  • The first session of the design process brought together a group of local residents and Homebaked stakeholders to consider the overall ‘form, feeling and function’ that we’d like to achieve for the project. Several of the ideas expressed picked up on those developed in earlier processes: for example the contrast between retaining ‘tradition’ and original features on the front elevation and a more experimental and varied approach at the rear.

 

 

  • During the second sesstion, URBED asked residents about their personal ambitions for the project and wider hopes and visions. This included a keen awareness of changing the area’s reputation, both by local people and those from further afield. A sense of community pride was key for many in the group.

 

  • By the third session, key design principles were confirmed, and several options had been tried and tested, with three emerging favourites. The focus of this session was to look at these designs in more detail, and work out what was popular and what was not. Their was preference for  more opportunity for commercial space, and development into the attic. During thie meeting, URBED explained energy plans for the terraces, with the focus on the actual building material and a 'Fabric First' approach.

 

  • In February, the Core Design Team went on a day trip around the north-west, checking out design ideas and ownership models, and looking at the work of other CLTs and cooperatives.

 

 

  • During the final workshop, URBED presented 3D visuals and sectional perspectives of the building design, and facilitated a short session about render colours and materials, with participants marking their preferred colour choices to influence the final design of the gable end.