Hazelmead (Bridport Cohousing CLT)/

Barefoot Architects, in collaboration with Bridport Cohousing Community Land Trust, designed Hazelmead, the largest cohousing development completed in the United Kingdom. Located on the edge of Bridport, Dorset, within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the project delivers 53 permanently affordable homes through a Community Land Trust model, offering a tangible alternative to the conventional housing market.

The housing mix comprises 14 one-bed flats, 23 two-bed houses, 13 three-bed houses, and three four-bed houses, supporting a genuinely multi-generational community. The project offers half of the homes for social rent, while the remaining units are available through shared ownership at 80% of market value, ensuring long-term affordability. Six homes are reserved for NHS workers at the adjacent hospital, providing secure housing for key local staff.

Site strategy and urban design

The masterplan follows the natural contours of the hillside, creating terraces that open up to expansive landscape views. Cars are kept to the perimeter, allowing the internal streets to function as shared social spaces rather than traffic routes.

Key features include:

• car‑free pedestrian streets lined with planting and shared gardens
• allotments and wild areas that support food production and biodiversity
• benches integrated into façades, encouraging informal neighbourly interaction
• a landscape strategy that blends cultivated and native vegetation

At the heart of the development, residents are self-building a timber and strawbale common house that will host communal meals, coworking events, and exercise classes, reinforcing the social infrastructure of the cohousing model.

Architecture and environmental performance

Hazelmead is built to the AECB CarbonLite New Build Standard, prioritising energy efficiency, comfort and low operational carbon. The homes use a timber frame with MMC‑insulated panels, with external finishes in brick and larch that sit comfortably within the rural context. Large windows, high ceilings, and well-proportioned rooms create a sense of generosity, which belies the project’s affordability.

Energy and comfort

• high levels of insulation and triple‑glazed windows
• optimised passive solar design
• mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR)
• air‑source heat pumps integrated discreetly within vernacular‑inspired “chimneys”
• actual energy use: 47 kWh/m²/year
• airtightness: 1.5 m³/hr·m² @50Pa

Renewable energy and resilience

• photovoltaic arrays across the site
• a shared community microgrid
• Tesla battery energy storage system
• reduced energy bills through internal sale of renewable electricity
• on‑site renewable generation: 200 kWh/year

Water and landscape

• SUDS including swales, rain gardens and permeable surfaces
• potable water use: 110 litres per person per day
• landscape designed to mitigate overheating, drought and flooding while supporting social interaction

Sustainable mobility

• parking located at the perimeter to keep the core car‑free
• integrated cycle storage
• plans for a shared car club to further reduce car dependency

Affordability and community governance

Hazelmead is 100% affordable, with homes secured in perpetuity through the Community Land Trust. The tenure mix—50% social rent and 50% shared ownership—ensures that residents on lower incomes can access high‑quality, low‑carbon homes.

The project was developed through a long‑term codesign process with future residents, resulting in homes that reflect their priorities: generous natural light, warm and draught‑free interiors, strong connections to the landscape and spaces that support everyday social contact. The community operates using sociocratic principles, reinforcing shared responsibility and collaborative decision‑making.

Key performance data

A blueprint for future housing

Hazelmead showcases the potential for large-scale delivery of high-quality, low-carbon, and community-led housing. By combining affordability, robust environmental performance, and strong social cohesion, it offers a replicable model for towns and cities seeking more resilient, human-centered forms of development.

• Masterplan and Housing Architect:  Barefoot Architects
• Microgrid Design: CEPRO
• AECB Consultant: Delta Q
• Structural Engineer: JDL Consultants
• Civil Engineer: IMA
• Principal Designer: Welling Partnership
• Landscape Architect: LT Studio, Land Products, Aileen Shackel Landscape Design
• Common House Architect: Common Practice
• Main Contractor: C G Fry
• Photo: Rebecca Noakes