A PLANNING application has been submitted for a housing cooperative where residents would eat meals together, share their cars and grow their own food.

The scheme, proposed by not-for-profit organisation YorSpace, would see a 19-home community based within a larger development at the former Lowfield School site.

The application says the homes would be cooperatively owned, which would stops the properties becoming available on the open market at inflated rates and allows them to remain affordable in perpetuity.

James Newton, co-director at YorSpace, said the cooperative has grown quickly, with more than 150 people now interested in living in the community, and many members have been involved in designing the development.

He said: “It’s really exciting. When we had workshops on the design there was really positive feedback. Hopefully it will be a big feather in York’s cap.”

He added that the next challenge is to allocate the homes to members fairly. But he said YorSpace is already looking at other potential sites for future cooperative housing in the city.

The application says there will be a communal kitchen and dining room, guest rooms and a shared garden where fruit, vegetables and herbs will be grown.

Flats on the first and second floor of the apartment block will have balconies and there will be solar panels on the roof.

There will also be five two-bedroom homes, six three-bedroom houses and three four-bedroom homes for families. The buildings will be built in low-emission renewable materials that can be recycled and the plans say each property will be painted in a different pastel colour, with front porches featuring brightly painted canopies.

Planning documents say: “From an early stage in the development of the project, prospective residents have requested that private garden space is kept to a minimum in favour of shared gardens, reflecting the co-operative nature of the scheme.

“Prospective residents have requested that a garden pond is included with marginal planting with plants to attract wildlife.

“There are 12 parking spaces, which equates to 0.6 spaces per dwelling. Parking provision has been intentionally limited as cycling and other sustainable forms of transport will be encouraged in order to reduce reliance on the car. In addition, car sharing will be made possible.”