Council tenant gives creates one-bedroom house for homeless man

A neighbour of love: Council tenant gives up part of his back garden so carbon neutral eco-property made from woodchip blocks can be built to create a one-bedroom house – for a homeless man

• John Bennet, 58, has moved into 57-year-old Bill Kelly’s back garden in Bristol
• Read more: Homeowner wins £300K court fight over Japanese knotweed

A council tenant has given up part of his back garden so that a one-bedroom carbon neutral eco-property can be made for a homeless man. 

John Bennet, 58, a former bricklayer, moved into his new home situated in the back garden of 57-year-old Bill Kelly’s house in Bristol.

Mr Bennet’s new residence is one of two houses built by We Can Make, a Bristol- based community-led housing initiative which builds ‘micro homes’ in council house back gardens as a way to tackle Britain’s housing crisis.

While Mr Bennet became homeless after splitting from his wife, Mr Kelly was struggling to maintain his large garden due to ill health.

Mr Kelly then opted in to transfer part of his garden to the community land trust, which created the space for the one-bedroom home made from woodchip boxes.

John Bennet, 58, became homeless after splitting from his wife

The former bricklayer’s new carbon neutral eco-property made from woodchip blocks being built 

A bird’s eye view of what the new home looks like in Mr Kelly’s back garden 

He said: ‘We’re literally building our community from the bottom up. It’s giving people different choices, better choices, about how things can be. We are the pioneers.

‘No one’s ever tried to do this before. Hopefully what we’ve done is make it easier for everyone else who comes after. This could be the future for a lot more people like me.’

The other pioneering home belongs to Toni Gray, a young mum who had been living in overcrowded conditions with her daughter at her parents’ council house.

They desperately needed more space, but found it ‘impossible’ to find anything affordable, so Ms Gray’s parents opted-in to using part of their back garden to help.

Ms Gray now lives in a new two-bedroom home in her parents garden, built by We Can Make.

Melissa Mean, director of We Can Make, said: ‘The UK seems permanently stuck in a housing crisis. Instead of relying on big commercial developers to fix a problem they helped create, WeCanMake shows another way is possible – about what can happen when the power and resources to make good homes are put in community hands.

‘Our two homes in Knowle West are just the start. Our toolkit for unlocking micro-sites through community-led opt-in densification is designed so other neighbourhoods can use it. Imagine 33,000 new affordable homes across the country – all inserted exactly where people need them most – helping elders to downsize, and ease pressure on overcrowded families.

‘It opens up a new way to scale with real impact, one where communities are in control.’

The community-led housing land trust has recently had their plans for Knowle West council estate in Bristol officially approved by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Michael Gove.

Bill Kelly (left) stands outside of his home with Mr Bennet (right)

The 58-year-old’s new home in the back garden of 57-year-old council tenant Bill Kelly

The one bedroom house is part of a new programme by the Bristol based charity We Can Make who are building ‘micro homes’ in council house back gardens as a way to beat Britain’s housing crisis

This means 150 additional homes can be built across the site alongside the two already built, representing a 3% uplift in properties on the 5,000 home-estate.

Cllr Tom Renhard, Cabinet Member for Housing Bristol City Council, said: ‘As a council, Bristol recognises that we need to go beyond ‘business as usual’ in order to tackle the housing crisis.

‘WeCanMake offers an innovative and additional way to unlock land and deliver high quality, affordable homes where people need them most. We think it is an approach that can scale-up, both in Bristol and in helping set a new model for estate regeneration across the UK.’

The charity estimates that its scalable model for building homes in existing council sites could result in a further 33,000 affordable homes being built across England, creating a real solution to Britain’s housing crisis.

The low-carbon homes are made from woodchip building blocks which can be slotted together on site.

Jonathan Lewis, programme manager at the Nationwide Foundation, said: ‘To combat the housing crisis, we need innovation and flexibility. We’re proud to fund and support WeCanMake.

‘Often, projects that test completely new solutions are seen as a risk the first time they’re tried. We’re confident that the homes in Knowle West, and the people living in them, are tangible proof that this model works.

‘The next step is to shout about what has been achieved and take the learning to other areas so that more affordable, decent homes can be created for and by local communities.’

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