Five years of Church Housing: supporting churches to respond to local need
The Church Development Agency (CDA) is proud to be part of the Church Housing initiative, which has grown significantly since the publication of the Coming Home report five years ago. A new short film, premiered at the Church of England’s General Synod last month, shows how the vision set out in the Coming Home is being translated into practical projects that respond to local housing need and support community life.
The Coming Home report highlighted the housing crisis and called on the Church of England to use its land and property to help provide affordable homes within its communities, recognising the wider social and spiritual importance of housing.
Five years on, the CDA is helping to turn that vision into reality by supporting dioceses and parishes to explore their land and bring forward homes that respond to local need.
The film brings together voices from across Church Housing, including CDA Board members, Church Housing Association representatives and residents, showing both the progress that has been made and the difference that secure homes can make to people’s lives.
Keeping communities at the heart of housing
For the CDA, Church led housing is not simply about the number of homes that can be built. It is about understanding the needs of individual areas and considering how development can contribute positively to the communities around it.
Jon Sawyer, Chair of the CDA, reflects on the importance of balancing the need to deliver housing at scale with the particular needs of local areas.
“To solve the housing crisis we need large organisations providing large scale solutions but we also need to not lose sight of local places.”
Church land is often closely connected to the communities it serves. This means that bringing land forward for housing can be an opportunity to think carefully about what a particular areaneeds, and how new homes can sit alongside existing community life.
Canon Ade Osunsanmi, CDA Board member, highlights the importance of involving communities in that process:
“It’s not just building homes, it’s engaging community to develop homes that will actually meet the needs of community.”
For CanonAde, the Church also has a distinctive role to play in creating places where people feel safe and welcome:
“The church is strategically placed to contribute to social housing. The ethos of church is in making sure that people feel safe in their environment.”
That sense of welcome extends beyond the congregation. Benjamin Preece Smith, CDA Board member, puts it simply:
“We’re not only interested in people who come to church, but every single person who lives in our communities.”
More than bricks and mortar
The vision behind Church Housing recognises that a home can provide much more than shelter. A safe and stable home can give people the security to build their lives, support their families and become part of a community.
One resident featured in the film describes the profound difference having a home has made:
“At one point, I couldn’t even think about the reality of living in a home because I was on the streets. It’s given me a chance to go back to who I am and where I’m from.”
For Jenny Tomlinson, CDA Board member, the benefits of good housing can be felt across many areas of life:
“Having a safe, sustainable home means that the health is better, the children’s education is better. It means their education is not disrupted.”
These outcomes reflect the wider values that guidethe CDA's approach to Church-led housing: creating homes that are Safe, Stable, Sustainable, Sociable and Satisfying.
The ambition is not simply to provide somewhere to live, but to provide homes and communitieswhere people can feel secure, connected and able to thrive.
Five years on
The new film provides an opportunity to reflect on how far Church Housing has come since the Coming Home was published - and to see some of the ways its vision is beginning to bear fruit.
As Jenny Tomlinson says:
“In five years, we can show people where a church building has been redeveloped, where housing has been built, where a community hub has grown.”
These examples demonstrate the potential of Church land and buildings when they are considered, not simply as assets, but as opportunities to support parish mission and serve local communities.
For the CDA, that means continuing to work alongside churches, dioceses, housing providers and other partners to explore how using Church land can respond to local housing need, while remaining connected to the mission and life of the Church.
Five years after Coming Home, the journey is well underway. The film offers a glimpse of what has already been achieved, and of what might be possible in the years ahead.
Watch the five-year Church Housing film below: