5. Membership and outreach

5.1 Membership process

Membership of LILAC is open to those who agree with the project core values, are accepted by the project membership and are willing to give time to the development of the project.  Members are expected to help bring the project to fruition and to provide voluntary work according to their ability. Much of the expertise and work in the project will come from its members and friends, and we will have a system of sweat equity to support this through which members can earn credits against future housing cost.

Our current membership structure is based around the following categories of membership:

·    Friends of the project are people who are interested in and want to support the project and sign up to the project's aspirations. They complete a form and pay a small annual fee (£5), to cover admin costs. The sentence they sign up to is as follows:

I would like to support LILAC in creating a low impact living affordable community in Leeds based on the principles of ecological sustainability, co-operation and inclusivity. I agree to do this with respect, commitment and cooperation, in a spirit of flexibility and equality.

Friends are kept up to date with LILAC’s progress, invited to socials and some workshops and may be invited to join working groups to help with tasks such as publicity, research etc. To become eligible for membership applicants have to have attended an introductory session and one social event.

·    Members (>18 years) are those who know they want to live in the project and can commit time and money to the project now. They commit a 5% equity share financial ‘deposit’ which is dependent on their income as highlighted in section 4. Members are also expected to commit some time to help develop the project. An average of two hours per week is offered as a guide depending on how much work is needed at any one time. Members can be assigned work from the development group or opt in to becoming part of the development group (see below).

·    The development group are members who are driving the project forward through the pre-development and development phase. They will be the signatories of legal documents and will form the initial board of directors of the project. There are currently five members in the development group, who are working on developing areas of the project such as the financial and legal structure, site development, membership and grants and funding. Members of the development group were the first Founder Members who signed the IPS company rules. New applicants can be admitted to this group. On completion, this group will become the Management Board.

5.2 Values and Ethics

LILAC is committed to being an open and equal project that strives to be as inclusive as possible in all its activities. This commitment is reflected in our core value statements about respect, inclusivity and diversity as well as our Ethical Policy (see Appendix 10 and 11). LILAC is also a project that is as far as possible self-sufficient and self managed, drawing on community skills to seek pragmatic and empowering solutions to pressing housing and environmental issues.

These values are reflected and expressed in our approaches to membership and the publicity of the project.  We have developed membership, consultation and meeting processes that reflect and foster inclusive membership and equality of access. We will also be working hard to create good relations with, and selectively open facilities for, the local community. We aim to include as part of our work activities and facilities that are of benefit to the area around us. We want to be inspirational in our work and to be a resource to the wider community.

5.3 Commitment

5.3.1 Individual/lifestyle commitment

As individuals, members must commit to the following:
·    Low impact, low carbon lifestyle
·    Treating others with respect
·    Working in a horizontal structure
·    Engaging with the issues of the wider community as well as the project
·    Engaging with communal activities
·    Commit to a healthy group process (honesty, fun, caring, commitment and listening)
·    Respecting diversity of skills and abilities (from each according to their ability, to each according to their need)

5.3.2 Time Commitment
Members of LILAC are asked to offer a minimum of an average of two hours per week to the development and maintenance of the project. This is a guide and depends on an individual’s ability and any area of special interest that they have. Due to differing skills, experience and time some members may be asked to do additional work. This would more than likely be asked by someone from the development group/management board. Members who are in the development group/management board are expected to contribute 4 hours (half a day) a week to the project in the development and occupation phase.

Additional work will be financed through sweat equity. The work will be remunerated at a set cost per hour (for example, £10 or £15) and deducted from the final property cost, with an upper limit total sweat equity cost set (e.g. 5% of a household’s equity shares). If no homes were built there would be no remuneration. The decision for people to undertake work for sweat equity would be agreed by the management board and regularly reviewed and monitored. A similar system could exist after the development phase, but against service charges for the co-house for example.

5.3.3 Financial commitment
A credit check and personal financial assessment will be required on membership application to ensure that potential members are able to repay the mortgage debt servicing obligations they are taking on. Each applicant needs to meet the pre-agreed minimum average income. The financial assessment will enable the calculation of the number of equity shares each applicant will contribute towards each month once they are living in the project.

5.4 Joining policy – membership process

People can become a friend of the project by filling out a friendship form. This can be obtained by post or via the LILAC website.

Application for membership will occur in waves, announced with a reasonable lead in time, until we have filled all the housing units we have proposed.  We will advertise and facilitate these in as open a manner as possible through our website, advertisement, meetings and local consultation. We are very keen to open up this process to members of the community where the land is secured. Applications for membership will involve the signing of pre-lease agreements and a financial investment of a 5% equity share as a deposit.

At regular intervals as agreed by the management board there will be opportunities for friends to become members. We will be having a second wave of membership once the legal and financial structures are in place and a site has been secured. Once the project is full, then applications will be for entry to our waiting pool. When members leave, the vacant homes would be offered to current residents first to allow for fluidity, as people’s needs change with time. Vacant homes would then be offered to the waiting pool (see exit policy).

Those who apply to become members of the project will be interviewed and assessed by existing members in consultation with other interested parties, through the medium of waiting lists and interviews. Applicants will be assessed according to the accommodation available and their commitment to the values of the project, get-on-ability, as well as their background and financial viability. We will be proactive about applications from people in the locality of the project, and all recommendations and nominations from other interested parties will be considered on their individual merits. Membership and residency processes will be transparent, consistent and agreed in advance with all interested parties. New members can indicate if they would like to be part of the management board, which needs at all times between 7-15 members. The management board will make decisions on entry of new members to the board in accordance with the company rules.

5.5 Tenancy agreements

All prospective households will have to sign a tenancy (or lease). The tenancy plays a number of roles:
·    it shows a legal commitment
·    it shows a financial commitment (of 10% of their equity share total by way of a deposit and to pay 35% of their net income to the deposit).
·    it allows members to state the size of property they intend to occupy and the equity shares they will take on.
·    it shows a time commitment as members agree to a minimum time commitment (2hr/week or 4hr/week for development group/management board)

5.6 Subletting

Subletting is not permitted and houses should only be occupied by those signing tenancies with the company. Short periods of absence where members would like others to occupy their house need to be approved at general meeting.

5.7 Process of membership

Become a friend (£5 per year)

Attend an induction/intro session
Attend social events

Attend presentation, read and be clear about legal and financial structures, core values etc…

Apply for membership
Commitment to living in the project
Commitment to the core values and ethics of LILAC
Financial assessment and credit check

Interview

Sign tenancy agreement:

• Financial commitment – 5% deposit on successful application, followed by a further 5%
• Lifestyle commitment
• Time commitment of 2 or 4hrs/week

Option to be on the development group (management board), taking on one/some of the following responsibilities:-

• Membership
• Grants and funding
• Bank account
• Legal structure
• Financial structure
• Site development

5.8 Meetings and Socials

During the pre-development and development phases of the project, the development group (future management board) meet at least fortnightly to discuss the practical development of the project and to move forward on areas such as financial, legal and land issues. They have financial and legal responsibility and have the consent of the wider group to make decisions autonomously where appropriate. At development group meetings, decision making is by consensus and everybody has an equal right to contribute to decision making.

At the later phase of the project (the occupation phase), LILAC will be managed and run through a two layer process of meetings. General meetings will be quarterly and will be attended by all members. The Development Group/Management Board (who meet once a month) reports back on progress to the general membership and take questions and advice. Working groups will feed back on their activities and ideas. In this way everybody stays in touch and the wider group can feed into the process of continuing to develop the project and make sure it is run according to the core values.

Throughout the pre-development and development phases, we will also hold regular socials and workshops which help with the development of a community of interest and the building of personal and professional relationships. These are advertised on the website and via email to the project email list.

5.9 Exit policy

Once the project is completed, when any householder leaves LILAC will offer the dwelling first to current members to allow for movement within the community, as people’s needs change with time. Only after this would the property be offered to people in the waiting pool.

5.10 Choosing to move on

If a member wishes to move out and sell their equity shares before they have lived in LILAC for three years they will only be able to sell their shares at their original value (or a lower value if their value, calculated in accordance with the valuation formula, has fallen). For members who wish to leave after three years, the value of the equity shares will be calculated by references to increases (or decreases) in average incomes for the area.

Those wishing to leave the project are required to give 6 months notice via letter to the management board. Those giving less than 6 months notice (and having lived in the project for more than 3 years) may forfeit the added value of their equity shares.

5.11 Benefits of the model

In line with our consideration of openness and inclusivity, LILAC does not want to be an ‘eco-ghetto’ or closed community. We want to be directly inspirational, educational, and accessible to those around us. We aim to be an attainable and positive example of sustainable living. We want to show what is possible in a way that is not intimidating or exclusive.  We will be building and demonstrating real working alternatives to an energy intensive existence in a contemporary urban community. We aim to foster and demonstrate lifestyles and ways of living that are sustainable, healthy, and equitable. This involves a belief in sharing resources and building community relations, so that resource intensive and socially isolating ways of living can be avoided. We will provide beneficial services for the use of our own community of members as well as the wider community as outlined below.
a)    Benefits to LILAC members
Direct benefits to LILAC members are the provision of affordable and low impact housing in a supportive and inclusive community. Members will be able to make use of the common house facilities which will include laundry, cooking and other recreational facilities such as fitness space, computer room and reading area. LILAC shares an interest in providing bottom up, pragmatic solutions to the issue of climate change and this project benefits members in being able to express that interest in a way that will also benefit and inspire others.
b)    Benefits to the wider community
Our benefits to the local community are both direct and indirect. Directly, the co-house will have several features open to the local community, including food coop, community shop, café, laundry, library, educational and computing resources, growing and green space, meeting and recreational space and film showings. All of these things could be offered to the local community as appropriate while respecting the privacy of members.

Indirectly we hope we will contribute to the regeneration of an area and to the investment of hope and energy into the future, increasing community safety and local green space. We hope that wherever our project is located, the area will experience a ripple effect from the investment of energy and ideas, money, time, infrastructure and expertise in a project that is forward looking, equitable and open to all who share our vision of a sustainable and just future. It will also act as a catalyst and resource for those interested in ecological and sustainable issues in the city and region, acting as a beacon of good practice and demonstration.

5.12 Outreach/advertising/gaining members

Section 2 outlined the considerable demand for the project. When marketing the project there are several accessible options available.

When we are seeking project members there are several routes. Within our community of interest there are multiple mailing lists and websites for environmental and affordable housing campaigns, both nationally and locally which we will target. There are several co-operative, co-housing and MHOS constituencies who we have web and mail access to. We have created a leaflet which we will distribute through such channels to advertise the project. Our own website is a useful publicity tool and mailshots also possible through these routes where more appropriate. We will also network through existing environmental housing projects. We will also use talks, stalls and leafleting at festivals and green/environmental events/gatherings for marketing purposes, at both a local and regional level.

We will also be considering some of these marketing possibilities for members as fundraising opportunities. Becoming a friend of the project is an accessible way to get involved and only involves a small fee. We are also considering the possibility of a share issue to help raise funds for the project which we will have to market in similar ways.

5.13 Community Engagement

Within the local community and Leeds more widely, we will use local print and broadcast media as an access point, as well as a selection of the approaches outlined above. However our main aim with regard to this area is consultation and awareness raising. Once we know which area we are going to be located in, we will plan a series of public meetings and local consultations which will help us to shape and develop the project considering the needs and concerns of local people. For example the Cashes Green CLT project in Stroud undertook a ‘planning for real’ event and a series of local consultations. This is also an avenue for attracting local people who may want to live in, financially support or get involved in the project.

We will undertake two consultation meetings with the wider LILAC community and the local community around the development. These forums will be to explain the concepts and designs take any questions and discuss any issues that may arise. They would also serve as an opportunity to discuss the training sessions, community involvement in the build and the principles of low-impact living. This sort of development will be very different to the usual brick houses surrounding it and a vigorous programme of informing the local residents will only improve the success of the final development.

Forward to next section: 6.  Risk management

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