Gay-only housing development planned in Germany

A £5.3m housing development for homosexuals only is planned in Germany with the hope that residents will be able to live in a discrimination-free environment.

Villa Anders in Ehrenfeld in Cologne features 70 flats, which all but 15 have been snapped up by gay people who plan to move in by the end of 2009.

Organisers the Gay and Lesbian Living Association said the project, which receives some public money, will be self-financing.

Resident Jens Lidy told the Guardian: “As a gay person, I’ve spent my life playing a sort of hiding game, making sure the neighbours didn’t know I was gay, because I never knew how they would react.

“I leapt at the chance to move to Villa Anders, because I feel I can finally be myself among people who have had a similar experience.”

A spokesman for the project said the biggest challenge had been overcoming prejudices in the surrounding neighbourhood.