Melissa Mean is head of arts at the Knowle West Media Centre, a living lab in the Knowle West area of Bristol.
The centre leads on We Can Make Homes, an ambitious housing project with community members and architects White Design, using the latest innovations in design. The project will build homes on micro-plots of otherwise underused land, in between buildings or on the corners of streets.
What is the point of the project?
Knowle West is a “garden city” neighbourhood of 5,000 homes that was built in the 1930s to house people cleared from slums near Temple Meads. The biggest employer – a tobacco factory – was a mile and a half away – closed down the 1980s. Now some parts of Knowle West are in the top 10 per cent most deprived areas of the country.
Most homes here are three bedroom semi-detached, which doesn’t fit with what a lot of people need. Over half only have one or two people are living in them. The market-led housing developments are also unaffordable for lots of local people.
The average home in Knowle West is over seven times average income. If those two conventional housing supply chains are not working, it’s time to look for something else!
Beautiful sunset & amazing vibes at KWMC as visitors spill out into the garden at tonight’s #HomeComingKW event, exploring the history & influence of South Bristol’s music artists, programmed with @cables_cameras #HomesforHeroes100 pic.twitter.com/r0YwyReM7C
— KWMC (@knowlewestmedia) September 19, 2019
When was the moment you decided to do this?
At the annual general meeting in 2016, we asked what the community wanted and they said housing.
We used Arts Council funding as seed funding and commissioned an artist called Charlotte Biszewski to make a wallpaper-making machine and take it round the houses. The machine took ten minutes to work, which gave space for conversation about housing.
That was a good first step; and gathered an audit of the need in the community to do housing in a different way.
We have this idea “low floor, high ceiling” – make it easy for people to get involved and then grow through the organisation. Now some of those same people are co-designing with planning committees.
Where has funding come from for your project?
We had some support from University of West of England and a bit more seed money from Bristol University.
We got enough to test the concept and map the assets that we have here, focusing on micro-sites and big back gardens. In this neighbourhood alone we found over 2000 possible sites.
Power to Change and the Nationwide Foundation were critically important when we ran out of money. They gave us some money to do the technical work, pay the lawyers and finance people to unlock the micro sites.
We’ve also had support from Bristol City Council. Now we are applying to money from Homes England to take the first 16 sites and families up to the planning stage.
Welcoming our first visitors to the We Can Make test home as part of @BrisOpenDoors #hiddencity weekend. Find our eco build next to @FilwoodCentre & discover how Knowle West residents are exploring new approaches to creating the homes they need. Open until 5! #opendoors #bristol pic.twitter.com/dWA64zH4vT
— We Can Make Homes (@WeCanMakeHomes) September 15, 2019
The aim is to have half a dozen designs that meet the requirements of the community.
We want it to be produced locally so that we create jobs, that’s the dream. We’re currently working with the first three families to develop their housing designs: one is a young woman who wants to move into a home in the garden where she currently lives with her parents. Another is a man living in temporary accommodation.
What’s been your proudest moment so far?
The opening of the first house was really great.
But the event when we had residents drawing with the design team was also great.
We record a regular Chat Show as a way to capture the learning, where we talk about innovations in housing as “snog”, “marry” and “avoid”. It’s hosted by two local residents, John and Makala, and will soon be available as a podcast.
Housing can be such a negative space, so we’re trying to capture more positive sentiment, with a bit more banter about it. It’s really great having it in people’s own voices. My proudest moment is that I have not uttered a word on that show!
What’s been hardest?
Money. Because it’s innovation it requires a lot of different behaviour from a lot of different people: residents, Arts Council, planners – and that’s a hard thing to keep going.
What drives you when it gets hard?
The people drive me. These guys get a house on their terms at the end of it and that’s amazing.
It’s a good time for community-led housing and it feels like a moment. We’re doing it in a Bristol and there’s people in London and in Liverpool too.
Which funders have been most helpful and why?
The Arts Council have given us the discretion to push the idea of what art is, which is important because the housing crisis does not seem like it’s going to get fixed by the housing system.
Power to Change is helpful partly because it is willing to back an idea, but also because of the brand credibility.
Nationwide foundation have been really helpful. Nationwide have come in with a sustained and bigger investment to see the project through.
Eventually we will generate income from loans as these will be built for social rent.
What would you say to someone looking to do something similar?
Do it, because we need as many experiments as possible.
Will Brexit affect what you are doing?
It just makes us feel sad. It’s a total waste of energy and money.
We need engagement from government to really make these community-led housing models work, and proper investment, and they’re distracted by Brexit.
