A cohousing group are recruiting members to help create a 32 eco-home community near Cirencester.

Cirencester Cohousing want to build 32 low-energy houses with a central courtyard, play area and community building with laundry and kitchen facilities.

They are searching for “people who share our values of living lightly on the earth” to be a part of the project, the construction of which they aim to begin in January 2023.

A spokesperson for the group, Bob Irving, said: “While we are forming an intentional community, our members will each have their own private homes but share the common house and open spaces. We are looking to reduce our impact on the world through our low-energy, ‘passivhaus’ homes and by sharing cars, laundry facilities, tools and other stuff.”

The term passive house refers to a voluntary standard of energy efficiency, resulting in buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling.

The mixture of one, two, three and four bedroom flats and houses will be sold at at market rates, but some will be ‘affordable homes’ - subject to a partnership with a housing association.

Key to the project is the ‘Common House,’ which will include cinema, a performance space, and a room for meetings and social events, office space and a place to make music or art.

Legally, a board of up to 10 directors elected from the membership are responsible in law for the actions of Cirencester Cohousing, but the group said their decisions are made after discussion with the whole community.

“Our community is non-hierarchical,” reads a statement on their website, with the intention that the community will be planned, owned and managed by the residents.

An application for outline planning permission will begin once the group locate a suitable site.

For further information visit cirencoho.org.uk or enquiry@cirencoho.org.uk