We are a group of residents working together to purchase and manage local properties in Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia. We aim to take them out of the speculative real estate market to make them community owned, for good.
This will keep investment wealth in our town and build a vibrant, democratic, and resilient future for our community.
Mission
Our mission is to provide opportunities for local people to invest in community real estate assets to:
- tackle the economic inequality being generated by outside real estate investment and profit extraction, and
- ensure our valuable community assets continue to support things we value, for example, locally owned services, fair access to housing, and action on the climate crisis.
Our vision is for the community to collectively control its real estate assets.
Our success will mean more money staying in the community, more support for the businesses and organisations we know and love, and greater opportunity for locals to shape our town’s development.
Our co-operative will focus on investments that generate enough revenue to provide a modest return for investors, while also providing the funds to consider other investments of social value.
Why a Co-operative?
Co-operatives are community-centred enterprises owned, controlled, and run by
their members, to benefit members, while also building a better world. They are
democratic and ownership is shared equally. Co-operatives are driven by values, not just profit. Profits generated are either reinvested in the enterprise, or the community, or returned to members.
Community co-operatives have been formed for a range of purposes, but all follow Seven Co-operative Principles including:
- open democratic membership
- shared economic participation
- cooperation amongst co-operatives
- concern for the community
Support Us
- Join the Co-operative for $40/$20.
- Sign up to our email newsletter to hear about upcoming events and developments.
- Follow us on Facebook
Board
The Co-operative has a board of five members. The current board was appointed at the Formation Meeting in February 2024, and future boards will be elected by the Co-operative members according to the rules.
- Angus Gratton (Co-operative secretary)
- Gwen Hanna
- Cath Jolly
- Jeanette Pope
- Warwick Smith
Official Documents
- Co-operative Rules (last updated 1 February 2024)
Contact Us
Email info@castlemaine.coop to say hello!