First resident-led homes scheme for Portaferry

First resident-led homes scheme for Portaferry

14 May 2025

PORTAFERRY is to become home to Northern Ireland’s first resident-led housing development. 

Planners have approved the construction of 32 new eco-friendly homes on a 10-acre site at the Cloughey Road on the outskirts of the village which has been purchased by Portaferry Cohousing.

Formal planning approval for the innovative scheme was granted at last week’s meeting of Ards and North Down Council with construction work due to start next year.

Under the innovative scheme, residents will design and own the entire development, where priority is placed on ‘designing in community’, rather than developer profit.

A small group of individuals created the not-for-profit Portaferry Cohousing organisation which aims to create a housing development that demonstrates sustainable design and supports a rich community life. 

With ever increasing house prices and a lack of affordable houses to rent, those behind the project say the need for this kind of development has never been greater.

The focus will be on building energy-efficient homes suitable for an intergenerational mix of households and incomes, designing in-shared spaces including a common house, safe play areas, wildlife habitats, allotments and workshop space. 

Each home will be privately owned and the common house will also have spare bedrooms for visitors and office space for those working from home. 

And the Portaferry group hopes that its proposal will act as a catalyst and inspiration for others.

Resident-led cohousing projects originated in Denmark and are now spreading worldwide, with cohousing offering a strong sense of neighbourhood and community, something those associated with the group say is often missing in modern society.

The Cloughey Road scheme will be a private development and won’t be linked to any Housing Association or Housing Executive. Residents will purchase their own homes and own a share of the communal house and the rest of the site. 

The housing group said it was always the dream to have safe, pedestrianised areas for children, lots of wildlife and a communal building to share meals together and to act as a catalyst for others who want to develop their own housing projects.

The Portaferry project started in 2020 with a small group of individuals who created the not-for-profit Portaferry Cohousing which has purchased land on the outskirts of the village and aims to 

create a housing development that demonstrates sustainable design and supports a rich community life.

The organisation hopes it will act as a catalyst and inspiration for others, with Cohousing members are delighted to be part of the scheme.

Hilda Hope, said that for the majority of her life, she has resided in rural and island areas in Northern Ireland and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland where she enjoyed the “huge social benefits” of living in communities where people are mutually supportive and have a rich sense of identity and belonging. 

“The concept of Cohousing was new to me but its ethos of intentionally building a collaborative cooperative community closely reflected my living experience and I am excited to have become a member of the Portaferry project,” she added.

David Powell said many hope they will end up in a “caring and friendly community”, but the reality is people need to be intentional and proactive in order to make this happen.

“Co-housing provides us with a template of how we can live in a place, where, although we may have different beliefs, we can share the same values and demonstrate those values by the way we live with each other.” 

Mary Kerr added: “I grew up just a ferry boat ride away from Portaferry and so becoming involved in Portaferry Cohousing feels like a homecoming of sorts. 

“I have moved house regularly and my friendship networks are scattered widely. However, I have been lucky enough to have lived and worked in places where that sense of belonging is still very much attached to the community you live in. I see the possibility of creating a similar sense of community through cohousing.”

Fifteen families have already signed up for the new scheme and anyone interested in joining Portaferry Cohousing or attend the next scheduled online session on May 21 at 7pm is asked to visit www.portaferrycohousing.org