Homefullness

A land trust model for affordable home ownership, interview with Peter Southwick of Bridge Housing Trust

I interview Peter Southwick, a Trustee of the Bridge Housing Trust in the Waikato, on their land trust model for affordable home ownership. We discuss how this model works, could be replicated around the country, as well as what levers need to be pulled to make it happen. Bridge Housing Trust has replicated the successful “Secure Home” model from the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT) where the cost of the house to buy does not include buying the land. Instead, the Trust holds the land for the wider community to always be able to offer affordable housing in perpetuity. 
What is different about Bridge Housing Trust is that, unlike QLCHT which was initiated by the District government, it was kicked off by a philanthropist who wanted to make his land available for affordable housing and so formed a Trust to be able to hold ownership of that land.I asked Peter what he believes are the leverage points and what he would do for housing if he had a magic wand. Actually, what we realised is that it doesn’t take magic to create better housing outcomes but it does take the more powerful role players of central and local government, financial institutions, big industry employers, and land-owning philanthropists to be bold, proactive, collaborative and then invest in and enable these tried-and-tested housing models.
For more information on Bridge Housing Trust and to see images and more stories, visit their website at: https://bridgehousing.co.nz/
Zola Rose is a consultant with Common Ground, supporting local councils, communities and stakeholders to enable affordable, connected and resilient communities
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Housing Action Reform Enthusiasts are working for housing justice, with Ruth Gerzon

This episode is a recording of the Women Revolutionising Housing (WRH) learning and networking event where Ruth Gerzon, a WRH member, shares about her efforts championing for housing justice in her hometown of Whakatāne, in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ruth and others formed a group called the Whakatāne Housing Action Reform Enthusiasts which makes the acronym WHARE, which means home/house in Te Reo Māori, to address the housing justice issues in her community. 
In this episode you will hear of the great strategies Ruth and WHARE have done '
how she mobilises her community to present about their housing challenges,
gets the media to cover the issues,
gets her local council to participate and start to address these challenges from a systems perspective,
and the ways in which they are able to bring the community's voice to the forefront to shape the future of housing in Whakatāne.
Her presentation can be found here: https://bit.ly/3PPQHm9
For more information on the show, check out the page on the Common Ground website at https://www.commonground.net.nz/show.  There, you can find a form to apply to be a guest or a sponsor of the show.
While on the CG website, check out what services we offer to councils, for-purpose developers, community housing providers, and community groups who want strategies, support and engagement on community-led, affordable, connected, and regenerative housing.
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What Homefullness is about and what we have to offer you

In this first episode, I share why I've started the show, the housing challenges that propel me to do this work, and what you can look forward to learning.
With this platform and network, we can catalyse housing and neighbourhoods that are places of belonging, of home, while also providing solutions that address some of the biggest challenges of our time.
You will also hear a beautiful song by one of my neighbours at Riverside community, Florian Pauls, called We Live in Love.