Award-winning housebuilder, The Hill Group has joined forces with TOWN, the UK's leading cohousing developer, in a strategic joint venture to scale up the delivery of community-focused residential development and cohousing. This ambitious partnership signals a major step towards integrating innovative cohousing models into the mainstream housing sector, combining Hill's industry-leading delivery expertise with TOWN's pioneering approach to community-oriented development.

Together, Hill and TOWN are committed to redefining how new neighbourhoods are conceived and built, with a particular focus on resident engagement, custom build and stewardship. Over the next five years, the joint venture will focus on delivering mixed-use, community-focused developments that reflect the evolving needs of residents while championing sustainability and innovation in the built environment.

The partnership will help scale TOWN's successful approach to delivering cohousing, a housing model that actively cultivates community through the provision of shared spaces and spaces and amenities that are jointly owned and managed by residents. Future residents will play a significant role in the design process, working with TOWN to help shape their homes and neighbourhoods.

The joint venture launches with a £50m project at Northstowe, a pioneering new town in South Cambridgeshire. Landowner Homes England has selected the partnership to bring forward approximately 150 homes, including two cohousing communities, alongside a mix of private and affordable housing. The joint venture draws from TOWN's track record of successful collaboration with public and institutional partners. These include Cambridge City Council, Landsec and The Crown Estate - relationships that have shaped projects such as the regeneration of Wolverton town centre with Milton Keynes City Council, the strategic masterplan for Hartree in Cambridge, and a resident-led neighbourhood at Westwick Row in Hemel Hempstead.

TOWN is already inviting future residents interested in cohousing at Northstowe to help design the community's homes and shared spaces – including gardens, play areas and a common house for shared meals and community activities – with a planning application expected to be submitted this summer.

The partnership builds on the success of TOWN's groundbreaking Marmalade Lane cohousing community in Cambridge, which has become a national exemplar of best practices in community-oriented development. Completed in 2019, Marmalade Lane is home to 100 adults and children and maintains a waiting list of over 500 households. It has received more than ten national awards for architecture, planning, placemaking and social value and is widely featured in national policy and best practice guidance. Nearby, The Hill Group has delivered a 100% affordable housing development at Orchard Park in partnership with Cambridge City Council, further demonstrating both organisations' commitment to inclusive and sustainable living.

The new joint venture aims to deliver new homes across London, East of England, South East and South Midlands, regions where both companies already maintain a strong presence. It will work closely with public sector bodies, legacy landowners and forward-thinking partners to deliver places that generate long-term social, environmental and financial value,  through a mix of shorter and longer-term projects at different scales

The joint venture is structured to allow close coordination of planning, design and delivery from the outset, making sure quality is embedded and maintained through every stage to create better places, faster and with greater long-term value.

Andy Hill OBE, Founder and Group Chief Executive of The Hill Group, said: “This is an exciting move for Hill as we step into the cohousing sector for the first time. TOWN's community-first perspective to development presents a fresh and innovative approach that aligns with our commitment to creating sustainable, socially valuable communities. This venture not only expands and diversifies our development pipeline but also reflects our ambition to support the growth of smaller, values-driven developers who are making a real impact in the sector.”

Jonny Anstead, Director of TOWN, added “This partnership enables us to take our proven model of resident-led development to new places and bigger projects, while keeping our commitment to quality and community at the heart of what we do. With Hill, we have a partner who shares our ambition to change how housing gets made in the UK - and the capacity to help us do it.”

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About The Hill Group

The Hill Group is a top 10 housebuilder* and one of the leading developers in London, the home counties, and the South. The company is renowned for its partnership ethos, specialising in the building of distinctive new places and communities where people want to live, work, and socialise.

In its 26th year, this family-owned and operated company has grown to establish itself as the UK's second-largest privately-owned housebuilder, with an impressive and diverse portfolio of projects ranging from landmark, mixed-use regenerations, and inner-city apartment developments to homes in rural communities. 

Employing over 950 staff, the company operates from six strategically located regional offices including Bristol and Abingdon to help facilitate growth in the South West and the Midlands, with its head office based in Waltham Abbey, Essex. 

Hill completed 2,886 homes in the last financial year and has a controlled development pipeline of over 8,800 homes. Around half of its portfolio is in joint ventures to deliver a range of mixed-tenure developments, reflecting Hill's commitment to partnerships with government, local authorities, housing associations, and private clients. 

Since the company was founded in 1999, Hill has won over 500 industry awards, including the esteemed title of WhatHouse? Housebuilder of the Year in 2015, 2020 and 2023. Most recently in 2024, Millside Grange in Croxley Green also won The Standard's Homes & Property Award for Best Commuter Home.

In addition, Hill's dedication to delivering the highest quality homes and exceptional customer service has earned the housebuilder its 5-star status in the Home Builders Federation's annual Customer Satisfaction Survey for the past eight years. Hill is a registered developer with the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) and follows the New Homes Quality Code (NHQC), a new industry standard to ensure high-quality homes and an exceptional customer experience. With a score of 4.8 out of 5, Hill is also ranked as the number one housebuilder on Trustpilot.

Hill is donating 200 fully equipped modular homes to local authorities and homeless charities as part of a £15 million pledge through its Foundation 200 programme, launched in 2019 to mark Hill's 20th anniversary.

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For more information, contact The Oracle Group PR Agency on Tel: 020 8394 2821 or hill@oraclepr.co.uk

*The Hill Group was listed within the top 10 of the Top 150 UK Contractors and Housebuilders published by Building.co.uk in December 2024