Date: 2011-09-24
ommunity Housing Ltd’s ecologically sustainable development in Bega NSW is winning friends and admirers as news of this landmark project spreads through the community housing industry and beyond.
At the heart of this development are the tenants of the BEND community (Bega Eco Neighbourhood Development) who have adopted a whole-of-community cooperative approach to decision-making and are living the kind of low-carbon footprint existence that most people can only dream of.
Country Energy, the energy retailer for the BEND Community, has confirmed through their most recent quarterly readings that on average the properties are using around 50% less energy than the average home. For the most recent quarterly bill covering April 7-July 13, the units consumed on average 13.3kWh/day, with a low of 2.6KWh/day and a high of 22.3kWh/day
“It’s been amazing. I’ve never lived in a community like this before and it’s on the pathway to what I’ve always wanted. There’s built-in neighbourhood support and a great sense of shared responsibility for the whole development,” says Heidi Bennett, who lives at BEND with her two children. “Because tenants manage decisions by reaching 100% agreement, the process takes time and everyone has learned to be more patient in reaching that decision, but the outcome is always one that everyone has agreed to and can support.”
BEND is a leading edge community housing development because it has taken a highly strategic approach to the lifestyle of its tenants. The six star energy-rated properties, the high-volume water storage and grey water reticulation systems, the cooperative approach to decision-making, the two-minute walk to Bega’s town centre, and having a not-for-profit housing organisation as the tenancy manager all adds up to a model of living where tenants are positively connected and highly supportive of one another.
Luc Sedaitis was previously living on a community farm, one of four houses on a 200 acre property. The move to BEND was a natural extension for the nature-lover, with the added benefit of sustainable living and immediate access to public transport and a bus-ride to Disaster Bay Chillies in Eden where he works one day a week.
“Luc is a real chilli aficionado. He researches them, grows unusual varieties in his garden, and sells them to market,” says his mum Karen. “While he has support, the move to BEND has been incredibly exciting for him because it is completely consistent with the way he wants to live his life.”
In this way, for tenants like Luc and neighbour Emily Brown, living at BEND is the perfect step forward to independent-living in an environment that is unlike any living option that could be achieved in a suburban setting.
“Emily has made a wonderful transition from living at home to living far more independently but still having support. She certainly couldn’t have done this in an apartment in a suburb,” says the 30 year-old’s mother, Barbara Brown. “The neighbourhood approach at BEND, combined with the direct support she receives from us (she and her husband Robert) and the housekeeping support she receives one day each week, has allowed her to blossom. She gets herself to work in Bega four days a week, and is being challenged each day. We have noticed many positive developments in her personality which has been wonderful to see.”
As always, the affordability of the BEND development is the icing on the cake for the tenants of this leading-edge community housing development.
“My weekly rent has been lowered by 20%, while the quality of our living conditions has improved 100%,” says Heidi Bennett. “We were previously living in one of the old Bega houses built many years ago from local timber. They are iceboxes in the winter and ovens in the summer. Our duplex is north-facing and draws passive solar heat. It is so well insulated that it’s almost the beginning of June and I haven’t had to use the heater yet.”
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Community Housing Limited (CHL) is a national and international provider of affordable housing. Its mission is ‘to provide affordable and sustainable housing for all’. CHL is a registered Housing organisation in Victoria and an approved growth provider in NSW, Tasmania, WA and SA. Its international operations are located in Timor Leste, Chile, and most recently India.
CHL provides an end-to-end integrated operation that manages the entire housing lifecycle. This includes securing funding, locating suitable land, project managing, designing and constructing, then managing the tenancy for the long term which includes collecting rents and maintaining the property.
For more information on CHL, contact:
Preeti Daga
Coordinator – Marketing and Communications
t 03 9856 0021 m 0430 555 241