East Cambs paving the way for a housing revolution

East Cambs paving the way for a housing revolution

With four Community Land Trusts (CLTs) having been established in the District so far, East Cambridgeshire District Council (ECDC) is helping lead the way nationally in terms of community-led development, supporting people who choose to live and work locally.

CLTs for Soham, Witchford, Swaffham Prior and Stretham & Wilburton have all become legal entities, with support from the ECDC’s CLT scheme. Stretham & Wilburton, in particular, are well on their way to having their first affordable homes available.

But what exactly is a CLT? A CLT is created when people from a village, street, neighbourhood or town get together to form a non-profit organisation for the good of their community. Run completely by trustees (volunteers), a CLT strives to meet the long-term needs of its community, for example building permanently affordable housing, workspaces or acquiring pubs, gardens and shops, which can remain under the ownership of the CLT organisation forever.

The beauty of a CLT is that the organisation has full ownership over what is built, down to size, number, density and allocation of homes. A CLT also ensures that high-quality properties are built and that the development as a whole is in the best interests of the community, meeting their requirements.

What’s more, because the CLT homes are subsidised by the sale of the open market homes also built onsite, they can be rented at genuinely affordable rates, and some can be bought under shared ownership where tenants can buy varying proportions of their properties up to a maximum of 80%. This helps give people committed to living and working locally a welcome first step onto the housing market.

Council Leader, Cllr James Palmer, said: “I’m committed, and so are the Council, to providing affordable housing for local people and that’s why we are helping to establish CLTs to kick start development in the District for the benefit of our communities in the future.”

Cllr Charles Roberts, Deputy Leader of the Council who champions CLTs, continued: “I’m a strong believer in localism, whereby local people have a real say in what’s happening in their towns and villages, rather than being subject to decisions made by other people, such as ministers, who live elsewhere in the country and lack knowledge of the area. CLTs are all about enabling people to live and work locally, putting residents at the heart of housing development in their communities, which is fantastic for the District.”

Who can benefit from CLT homes?

• People who cannot afford to rent or buy on the open market where they live and/or work
• People on local wages looking to get a foot on the property ladder
• Young families starting out on their own
• Young people living with family members
• Older people looking to downsize
• People with local connections wanting to move back to look after relatives

To qualify for a CLT home, trustees will look at each application, based on a set criteria, with a particular allocation focus on people with local connections, who work locally and want to stay close to work, family and friends.

In addition to the four CLTs already in existence, Haddenham and Fordham are waiting for confirmation to become legal bodies. Both received grants from ECDC, in January and March respectively, to help them set up. Kennett has also taken its first steps towards forming a CLT.

Cllr Mark Hugo, Haddenham District Councillor and a Haddenham CLT trustee, said: “In Haddenham, we recognise that growth is essential for the community. Therefore, we need more houses – both open market and affordable ones. A Haddenham CLT, focused on building houses in areas acceptable to the local population, gives us the opportunity to ensure that folk who live and work or have other strong connections with the village can stay here in houses they can afford. The alternative of external developers imposing large housing sites on the village without any input from the locals is unacceptable and has already been rejected only recently.

“Whilst we are just getting started in Haddenham, it is already clear that without ECDC’s complete commitment to support local CLTs, we would not have even got off the ground. I am confident that with the continuing support of this forward-looking Council, we will soon achieve the above goals. Of course this depends on the village getting behind the CLT and in particular local landowners coming forward and being willing to work with us.”

The Haddenham CLT is holding an initial “drop in” meeting at the Arkenstall Centre in Haddenham on Sunday 12^th June between 2pm and 4pm, and they hope people from the village will come along, learn more and get involved.

In order to inform more of the District’s communities about CLTs, ECDC will be giving talks to several Parish Council AGMs. This started with Little Downham on 29^th April and others will be taking place at Swaffham Bulbeck on 17^th May and Little Thetford on 18^th May.

Debbie Wildridge, CLT Advisor at ECDC, said: “CLTs are a great way to provide community-led development and, at East Cambs District Council, we are providing special support for groups who want to set up their own CLT. I am delighted with the progress we are making with CLTs and more people are contacting me every day to find out how to go about it.”