Oakleigh
We are a communal household of 7 adults, with ownership of the house limited to the 3 founder members, and 4 good-sized rooms for long term tenants.
Occasionally we host guests on short courses in Sheffield, and at times the house is quieter when several occupants are away. This gives the house has an ever changing rhythm between large communal meals of more than ten around the table down to times when only a couple of people are around.
The mix of different individuals brings an eclectic diversity to conversations, bringing in social, environmental and cultural perspectives, and interests ranging from gardening, dance, and climbing, through to circus and performance. The house is run on a very flexible basis, with communal buying of food supplies, but private ownership of food, and some input into recycling, maintenance and cleaning of the house expected.
When we bought the house in 2000 with support from the Ecological Building Society it needed considerable work (plumbing, electrics, new traditional double-glazed sash windows etc.), but is now a beautiful home. We made our restoration of the house as sympathetic and as low impact as possible, and have invested in sheep’s wool insulation, solar hot water, condensing boiler, efficient wood stove, and low emission paints. More recent additions have included a pond (thankyou, Julian!), raised veg beds, and solar PV.
We are located in Burngreave, an easy 15 min from Sheffield town centre by bus or bike (30 min walk), and 5 minutes from shops and the Northern General Hospital. The house has a large garden with mature trees and offers most amenities - except a TV!
