Tiny Homes

What are Tiny Homes?

Tiny Homes are sometimes defined as a living space of less than 400 square feet – often ingeniously designed to make the most of every inch of space.

However, the Tiny House movement represents much more than that, promoting financial prudence, environmental sustainability and a shift away from consumer-driven mind-sets into a more flexible way of life.

Tiny Homes are of increasing interest, particularly to young people, because they are more affordable than a conventional home, allow for more creativity and flexibility, and offer a range of possibilities for living in community. They are a natural fit with co-housing, self-build and self-finishing.

They also have a lower carbon footprint and enable their owners to live more simply and in closer contact with nature. However, there are many practical hurdles to overcome, including getting access to land, securing planning permission, and meeting building regulations.

The Frome Tiny Homes Webinar

Fair Housing for Frome is working towards developing a Tiny Homes Community and have been re-grouping over the last twelve months expanding the project after COVID restrictions forced the postponement of the sold-out Tiny Homes event at the Cheese & Grain last year.

We held a webinar on the 20th March, which was open to everyone who might be interested in building, buying or renting an affordable eco-friendly Tiny Home. Local people with an interest in community-led housing or just people who want to explore a less cluttered way of life could benefit from the session. Speakers include project workers Polly Lamb and Rory Supka, as well as Jackson Moulding from SNUG Homes in Bristol, and James Shorten – a Planning Consultant from TerraPermaGeo. Local artist Rebecca Brewin also talks about her progress in finishing her own Tiny Home here in Frome.

Tiny Homes is just one of the projects being pioneered by Fair Housing for Frome with the aim of tackling the housing crisis. Problems such as high rental prices, lack of affordable housing and redundancies made worse by the pandemic will need to be addressed by a range of innovative programmes. Watch the webinar for more detail about how a Tiny Homes project could be part of the solution.

If you are interested in our project, or in Tiny Homes generally, please fill in our short survey.

If you are interested in being more closely involved with our group, please consider becoming a member.

Tiny Homes: next steps in Frome

Tiny Homes are part of the solution to the housing supply and affordability issues that we face in the district – Councillor Richard Pinnock, Portfolio Holder for Housing, Mendip District Council, November 2019

FHfF is committed to exploring how tiny housing can alleviate the housing needs and aspirations of local people, particularly those on low incomes who are unable to access social housing, afford market rents or consider a house purchase. We have been encouraged by the fact that, over the past months, our public events have attracted a number of people who are ‘hidden homeless’ in and around Frome and who feel that tiny housing would be helpful to them on either a short-term or a long-term basis. 

Our work so far has included setting up the Frome Tiny Homes Action Group, developing awareness and support via the Frome Tiny Homes Event, and building partnerships. 

Our goal is to create housing that is genuinely affordable and environmentally sustainable, which builds community through shared outdoor spaces and facilities, supports imaginative social enterprises and provides opportunities to develop skills through self-build or self-finishing. If you’d like to offer your support – for example by sharing your time, land, money or experience – please contact us at info@fairhousingforfrome.org.uk. 

Useful Links

Tiny House Community UK

The Tiny House Community, Bristol

More information about tiny housing: books, websites etc

Get in Touch