Inside incredible eco-commune where friends live together and share all jobs

31 January 2024 , 16:57

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Cannock Mill offers a very different way of living (Image: Cannock Mill Cohousing/Facebook)

Residents of Cannock Mill live a very different sort of life than those in other neighbourhoods up and down the UK - with a focus on community, shared work, and building strong connections with each other.

Located on a 2.4-acre site just outside Colchester, Essex, Cannock Mill is the UK's first co-housing community and aims to provide a more eco-friendly, not to mention less lonely, way of living for members of the older population.

Residents muck in together to share chores such as keeping on top of grounds, cooking, and running their car pool. They'll also draw from the wealth of talent within the close-knit band of neighbours, to learn new skills, including beekeeping, pottery, and conversational French.

The social hub of the community can be found at a three-storey Grade II-listed mill, where residents will gather together for coffee, conversation, and twice-weekly group meals. While the grounds and common spaces are shared, however, each household 'has a self-contained, private home'.

Residents muck in to share tasks in the grounds and communal areas (Cannock Mill Cohousing/Facebook)

The eco-village is built with tackling loneliness in mind (Cannock Mill Cohousing/Facebook)

Architect Anne Thorne designed the eco-village in collaboration with a group of friends who had become fed up with life in London, and were looking for a more sociable place to spend their retirement. The idea first came about in 2006, after Anne and some pals discussed the often limited housing options faced by older people.

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The Guardian reports that it took them 13 years to make their dream a reality, and in 2019, by which point the friends had all retired, they finally moved into their new homes. The land cost £1.2 million and the group, which was originally made up of just eight households, came up with the cash themselves, with some getting mortgages on existing properties or cashing in their pension pots. After securing the land, they had to obtain planning permission, which was no easy feat.

It took 13 years for the group to make their dream a reality (Cannock Mill Cohousing/Facebook)

Anne told the publication: "I remember someone said: 'Right, we've just got to hold hands and jump'. That was what it felt like – a total leap of faith. We were concerned about that, because we didn’t want to be isolated from the local community here. The ideal of co-housing is not to be some inward-looking group, but that we are an active part of the neighbourhood. So we did a lot of leafleting and invited neighbours to come in and have a look."

Just three months after finally getting settled, however, the first lockdown hit, meaning they had to get creative when it came to building that all-important sense of community, holding a few socially distanced meetings outdoors, singing, and setting up a WhatsApp group which is still in use.

Residents love getting together to learn new skills, from pottery to French (Cannock Mill Cohousing/Facebook)

Reflecting on her first year living at the mill, former Islington council worker Lindsay Wright told the publication: "I got to hear about it because I'd attended an art workshop in the area for years. After meeting everyone, I was accepted onto the waiting list. I've loved living here as a single person with no children. It's a great way to live. You can be as involved as you like. I've enjoyed all the things we do together, like communal meals, opera nights, planting vegetables and French conversation classes."

Lindsay, who enjoys the task days which take place every eight days, added: "Living here has made me feel safe and certainly not lonely. Of course, things are not always perfect. It can take time to resolve issues." Going forward, the group are hoping to attract younger people to live at the mill, and is also continuing to build a presence in the local community beyond, helping with local charities and arts organisations.

Julia Banim