Owenstown is being established by the Hometown Foundation, a Scottish-based charity which aims to help create sustainable communities and regenerate rundown urban areas.
Anyone who wants to – and is enthusiastic about the innovative ideas about co-operative living.
Owenstown will be open to anyone and everyone.
The people who want to live there will decide for themselves.
Absolutely not. This is creating a new way of living for Scotland in the 21st Century based on some of the social reforms first begun 200 years ago by Robert Owen at New Lanark.
By registering an interest at this stage and once the development begins by applying for a plot and building – or having built – your house.
This exhibition is the start of the process of hearing what people think about the proposal. The exhibition explains the vision in detail and everyone will have the chance to have their say through questionnaires, the Owenstown website and meetings with interested groups and organisations..
This is a very long term project but the initial stage is to carry out the extensive public consultation. Following that we may be in a position to submit a planning application late next year depending on the level of support for the project. That will dictate the timescale for development work on the site but with public and planning approval it is hoped that construction could begin within three years.
The Scottish Government has been consulted and is very interested in the Owenstown project. It, like us, wants to hear what local people think about the idea.
Scotland faces many social problems, some of which are due to the breakdown of communities. Owenstown will recreate the community spirit which has been lost in many areas and give residents a say in how and where they live in a self-sufficient, eco-friendly town run on co-operative principles. Owenstown will be a new way of living for the 21st Century.
It will be run by the residents themselves on co-operative principles developing some of the ideas begun by Robert Owen in New Lanark 200 years ago. It will have it own green transport and district heating system using renewable energy from waste and natural resources such as wind turbines.
A sense of community in an environmentally friendly town where you have a say in how it was run.
Yes, but the majority will be owned by the householders. There will be a range of house sizes and values. Houses available for rent could also be built and made available by the Co-op.
Initially residents’ children will go to local schools but once the town began to develop, a community school will be built.
The plans include a non-denominational place of worship which will be open to followers of all religions.
ny crime will be dealt with by the police in the same way as anywhere else in Scotland. We believe that the strength of the community will mean that the crime level will be very low.
The Hometown Foundation trustees have volunteered and have been approved by the charity regulators OSCR. The Owenstown trustees under the chairmanship of Dr Jim Arnold have also volunteered and we are looking for others who are enthusiastic about the project to join them. Eventually, the residents of the town will decide how the town is run.
As soon as there are a sufficient number of residents, they will take over responsibility for running the town. The make-up of the Co-operative’s Board will ensure that there is a balance of skills available to run this enterprise. Non-residents will always be a part of the Board but as a minority.
Building companies or individuals according to general design guidelines.
In terms of employment, Owenstown is not expected to be wholly self-contained. There will be some commuting – both in and out. Owenstown will have a full range of residents including pensioners and children. There may be some households where several people are working and some where the people are retired or do not work.
The law of Scotland – and a general commitment to the principles of co-operative living.
Absolutely not. There will be a range of homes – many of them kit homes manufactured in the town itself.
This would be an issue which would be tackled by the residents themselves. If the family was a tenant of a rented house, then they would be bound by the conditions of the tenancy agreement.
The Hometown Foundation recognises the potential to carry out similar co-operative schemes in run down urban areas and we will actively pursue this as well. However, we feel that the most effective and beneficial project for South Lanarkshire will be a brand new purpose built settlement to replace industries which have long since departed.
We want to work alongside the other residents in the area and would want the local communities to be supportive and involved. Owenstown will provide jobs and leisure facilities which will be of a direct benefit to Rigside and Douglas Water residents. A number of people from Rigside have already noted an interest in acquiring a house and some Rigside based businesses have also been in touch. We believe the entire area will benefit from the creation of Owenstown.
A transport study has already been carried out. The verdict was that, for a trunk road, the A70 is relatively lightly trafficked and that this will decrease with the conclusion of open cast coal mining in the area. There may be some traffic created as Owenstown develops, but as the houses would be built in kit form from a factory on the Owenstown site and as we believe many residents will live and work within the town, that increase should be minimal. We believe public transport in the general area will improve with the development of Owenstown. There are two bad bridges which are long overdue for replacement and these would be attended to in conjunction with the roads authority.
The Hometown Foundation has provided the land on which the town will be built. Once planning permission is granted, the land will be transferred to the Owenstown Co-operative Society. The increase in land value with planning permission will create the financial strength to create the town. Income generated from the sale of housing plots and commercial buildings will be reinvested in the town.
The Owenstown Co-operative Society will gain the income from the development of the town and will reinvest it in the town and its facilities for public benefit.
If potential residents need to finance the building of their home they may take out a mortgage as they would on any new housing development.
Yes, in the same way that everyone in Scotland pays council tax to their local authority for central services such as the police, fire service and social work.
They would put it on the open market as with in any other area. Restrictions would only apply if the owner secured their house at a beneficial price from the Co-op. The Co-op would like to see this benefit being passed on to the next purchaser.
Modern, modular construction techniques, with manufacturing carried out in the town, and minimal profit for the developer, which goes straight back into the Co-op, will ensure that the houses will affordable for all.
Owenstown will be a showpiece for sustainable living in the 21st Century to deliver a low carbon community. It will minimise the need for resources and maximise the use of renewables. It will focus on low carbon lifestyles; reduce energy use in buildings and movement; produce energy from waste and wind power; source and manufacture building materials locally and use water sensitively.
A district heating system powered by energy from waste will provide heat and power. Three wind turbines on the outskirts of the town will provide renewable energy which among other things will charge the batteries of the electric buses and cycles. Any excess will be sold to the National Grid.
No, but parking would be restricted to designated areas. There will be parking for conventional vehicles on the periphery of the town and transport around the town will be by electric powered bus or cycle. Residents would have access to park at their own homes.
Electric powered buses and cycles.
This is a rural area and there is a range of wildlife, commercial forest and natural vegetation including woodland. All wildlife will be given careful consideration and included in the plan is a scheme to adapt the existing stream on the site to provide a haven for appropriate wildlife. In time the woodland will mature and then be felled and replanted.
We are committed to protecting the environment on the site and we believe that our proposals will actually make life better, safer and more sustainable for all wildlife, including any badgers already in the area.
JOBS
Jobs will be created within the town, initially in building and construction but in the longer term through the establishment of sustainable businesses and workshops, benefiting from the lower heating and energy costs. Owenstown will have its own dedicated town farm supplying fresh vegetables to the town and creating further employment. Employers interested in the sustainable lifestyle may be attracted to set up in the town.
There will be a range of employment opportunities in shops, offices and recreation facilities as well as workshops and small businesses providing local produce and services to the residents.
We believe a town of 20,000 residents will provide a total of 8,000 jobs which averages one job for every household. Some households may have several working members, others may be retired or non-working. The jobs are also to benefit existing communities within the Rural Investment Area.
Of course. Residents will be free to work wherever they wanted but by working within the town they will reduce their carbon footprint.
THE FUTURE
We see Owenstown developing over many years but continuing its sustainable credentials and thriving over the decades. We believe it will become a showpiece of community living for the rest of the country to follow.
The initial residents will be the pioneers of this project but we believe that the concept will be attractive to many people who see the benefits of a co-operative way of life. It will grow over time as demand dictates. The existing site is able to comfortably accommodate at least 8,000 homes and we see that as the optimum size for the town once it is fully developed.
At present, yes. Owenstown is the first project to be sponsored by the Foundation but the Foundation will be happy to hear from others in other parts of Scotland, both rural and urban, who wish to bring other potential projects or initiatives to its attention.