Sir – I share Sarah Westcott’s opinion that most people support what are the intrinsic elements of cohousing (Letters, April 3).
What she does not say is that these characteristics of neighbourliness, sharing of space and resources and other environmentally-friendly behaviour equate to ‘sustainable development’ that should, under national planning guidance, be prioritised by our planning authorities.
One of the particular benefits of co-housing is the efficient way in which space is used and the reduction in the tendency for the under-occupancy of our housing stock (in villages and suburban areas 85 per cent of dwellings have one but more often two, spare bedrooms).Cohousing represents an attractive alternative to the many thousands of older householders wanting to downsize into caring and neighbourly environments and such developments and allocations would incidentally enable the re-balancing of the size of households and houses in an area.
There is little or no prospect of conventional house-building being able to meet either housing needs, or the numbers being suggested in the Oxfordshire Strategic Housing Market Assessment in a sustainable way.
In these circumstances planning authorities (including those preparing neighbourhood plans) should be looking for alternatives and at ways to support and promote cohousing.
Daniel Scharf, Drayton
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