Tina's Story

My story starts back in 1988, when I joined the waiting list for Mulberry after hearing about the newly built co-op from a customer at work.  

Several months later, I was fortunate enough to be given a home on Upper Ground. Fast forward 35 years and it’s still only me and my family who have ever lived here. Back when we were first offered the home there was only one barrier which almost stopped us from moving in: dogs. We were told that they weren’t allowed to live with us, so we were unsure whether it would be the right move.  

Luckily, with a little convincing, the higher ups changed their mind, and we were allowed to bring our dog with us. Funnily enough, Mulberry now has lots of dog owners and my partner and I even dog sit in our spare time!

Just after settling in, I was fortunate enough to be the very first chair of our co-op. To begin with, we were given training sessions which taught us how to run a co-op and manage the day-to-day running of our housing. I also got involved in other community events and campaigns.  

Iain Tuckett and Ted Bowman were the two who I always saw at these events. They were joined by a large collection of ordinary, local people, who worked tirelessly for the benefit of the whole community. They believed everyone deserved decent housing and wondered why conglomerates should be able to take this away from the people. Housing needs to go to the people who need it and that’s what they campaigned for. Everyone should always be grateful to them for doing that.  

My involvement with Coin Street wasn’t just through my role as chair. Soon after I moved in, around 1988, I was asked by Iain to join the board. At the time, there was only one board, the Coin Street Community Builders (CSCB). As time passed, the decision was made that we had to set up more boards. During the 35 years I’ve lived here, I’ve had the pleasure of sitting on all three of the main Coin Street boards: CSCB, Coin Street Secondary Housing Co-operative (CSS) and Coin Street Centre Trust (CSCT).   

I’m still on the charities board for Coin Street and I remain as secretary for Mulberry. Having been part of Coin Street for so long, I’ve met people that I never would have before. It’s made me grateful for everything that I have and the opportunity to live in such an amazing place. 

I could never imagine living anywhere else, I can walk out my front door and just watch the river and the boats go past. There is a real sense of community, and everything is local. People are jealous that we live here, they ask, ‘how did you end up living in this place’ and I tell them that we were so lucky, and I have enjoyed every moment of it. 

From standing outside talking to people who are admiring our Christmas lights, to those who comment on our front garden. You know the community, the people that live in the area, and people from other co-ops.  

It opened a lovely new world for me and I love it here. I feel very grateful to the founding members of Coin Street Community Builders who volunteered their time to make decent affordable homes for people and families like ours.