“The Perfect Venue for Social Housing”: A Welsh Charity Has Turned Old Church Land Into 75 Homes

• Housing Justice Cymru has helped deliver 75 social homes across Wales
• Many of the homes are on redundant church land
• Albany Baptist Church in Roath, Cardiff, planned 12 affordable homes by autumn 2024
• The charity says declining churches and halls are ideal sites

A Christian housing charity in Wales has been turning land that churches no longer need into homes for people on low incomes. ITV News reported in December 2023 that Housing Justice Cymru had helped deliver 75 social housing properties in towns and cities across Wales, often on redundant church land.

The charity argues that church sites are often in exactly the right places. “We know that people in social housing are often on low incomes so they need to be in and around amenities, transport links and all of the things that they need to live their lives,” said Bonnie Williams. “Churches, community halls, social clubs that are declining, are the perfect venue for social housing.”

One of the projects under way was at Albany Baptist Church in Roath, Cardiff, which was being turned into a mixed-use building with 12 new affordable homes planned by autumn 2024. Peter Littlechild, the church’s community coordinator, said congregations had to adapt. “Churches as a whole need to evolve, serving their communities and being seven days a week churches,” he said.

He said housing was the obvious need to meet. “The biggest social need in our area is social housing and we were able to accommodate that by working with partners,” Littlechild said.

The Welsh experience shows a church-led model that does not require a congregation to become a developer itself. A specialist charity helps churches identify surplus land and connects them with housing associations, allowing congregations to keep a presence while meeting local need.

Britain’s Caribbean-heritage churches, including many founded by Jamaican migrants, often own halls and plots in inner-city areas where social housing is scarce. The Housing Justice Cymru approach offers them, and churches in Jamaica with idle land in town centres, a practical route: work with an experienced partner, keep worship at the heart of the site, and put the rest to work housing people.

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