Residents invited to have their say on community-led housing in Central Bedfordshire
Tuesday, 18 November 2025
We're inviting residents to take part in a new survey on community-led housing, an approach that puts communities at the heart of housing development.
Community-led housing enables community groups or organisations to own, manage, or oversee homes in a way that benefits the local community. They are usually set up and run by local people in their own communities to meet local housing needs, and can include housing co-operatives, community land trusts and co-housing schemes.
We've now launched a survey to better understand the level of interest in community-led housing. We're interested in hearing from residents about whether community-led housing is something they might be interested in, and if so, the areas where such developments would be of interest.
Earlier in the year, we launched Better Looking Housing, a significant new arm to the Local Plan. It provides the starting point for a major piece of work to consider all aspects of new building to ensure it fits in with the area in question. Should community-led housing form part of the Local Plan, it will be a core part of this this initiative.
Feedback will help us to consider how we could support the delivery of such initiatives in the future, likely through policies in our Local Plan.
Councillor Adam Zerny, Leader of the Council and Executive Member for the Local Plan said:
Community‑led housing can provide real opportunities for residents to come together to decide what type of housing is needed, how it is designed and how it is managed. This year we launched Better Looking Housing to ensure new housing fits with the traditional design of the existing community and provides homes that look good and that people want to live in. New community-led housing, has the potential to be a significant part of this.
The survey gives the community the opportunity to feed back about what matters most, and where these kinds of projects could have the greatest impact. Local input is crucial to making sure future housing reflects the needs of the people who live in Central Bedfordshire.
The survey will run for 8 weeks until Tuesday 13 January 2026.