Merry Hill was conceived as an innovative community-led housing project providing affordable homes while also building an intentional community. Residents were involved in shaping and finishing their homes and outside spaces, which created a sense of ownership and a strong bond between neighbours. Merry Hill is built on the principles of co-housing, which means that besides everyone’s own private space, there are some common spaces and resources which we as residents share, manage and maintain collectively.

Merry Hill is a diverse community that is committed to these basic principles:

• Showing respect, courtesy and appreciation to our neighbours and working through disagreements or difficulties if they arise
• Making decisions about communal spaces and resources together
• Treating all common spaces and shared resources with respect and consideration
• Actively contributing to making Merry Hill a safe, sustainable and nourishing place to live.

Merry Hill Resident’s Association

The Merry Hill Residents’ Association (MHRA) was formed by residents in order to help us work together and make collective decisions. It is made up of Merry Hill households and provides a practical structure for residents to come together, discuss issues and make fair collective decisions. Examples of this could be how we use common spaces, facilitating agreements around parking, agreeing on events or fundraising activities, deciding what to spend collective funds on, and so on.

The MHRA was formed by residents for residents! It’s something many of us have helped create and evolve and it’s there for all to use. It gives every household a voice in decisions that affect us all. It is also our collective point of contact with Brighter Places and a way of representing Merry Hill’s interests more widely. 

We hold monthly residents’ meetings. Membership is free and works on a per-household basis.