Transcript Slide 1
Exploring the potential for communities to develop affordable housing through local trusts The need for community-led solutions Community Land Trusts
Bob Paterson Project Director Community Finance Solutions University of Salford Room 214 Crescent House The Crescent Salford M5 4WT 0161 295 4454 www.communitylandtrust.org.uk
Changing policy context
• new ‘place shaping’ responsibilities of local government,
especially through:
– Sustainable Community Strategies – Local Development Frameworks • new performance framework for local government, delivered
through:
– Local Area Agreements – Comprehensive Area Assessment • new ‘duty to involve’ the public (April 2009) – community and third sector engagement – enhanced roles for elected councillors – neighbourhood management – community empowerment (eg transfer of community
assets)
Placeshaping in Rural Communities
CLTs in their ‘place-shaping’ role are often seeking to undertake a degree of social engineering to:-
• enable younger people to afford to stay in an area as
they move into employment and form new households.
• enable people with limited ‘equity’ to stay in an area
which would otherwise be unaffordable.
• provide a mix of housing tenures to increase overall
disposal income in an area to support local services
• sustain a mixed community and hence support local
businesses, schools and other public services plus voluntary organisations located in the area.
What are Community Land Trusts
Not for profit organisations which allow the community and other stakeholders to take control of, and manage assets. Community Land Trusts are a flexible concept taking many different legal structures and forms, but they generally have a number of key principles in common. They are a way of acquiring land and property and holding them for the benefit of the community usually for the provision of affordable housing but also for affordable work space and the provision of community facilities and green spaces.
Ingredients for a successful rural CLT project Community entrepreneurs – lay-led leadership by local people who are committed to making a difference in their community.
• Land availability – this includes exception sites,
commuted sums and the transfer of public assets.
• Robust legal models to protect a trust’s assets in
perpetuity – there is a need to introduce specific legal frameworks for CLTs if they are to flourish.
• Technical capacity – appropriate human capacity needs
to be identified and paid for.
• Funding – resources will be required from the private,
public and voluntary sectors.
Delivering Affordable Housing
A typical rural CLT is currently about delivering intermediate market homes but sustainable communities are about more that affordable housing !
Intermediate market housing Social Housing £10,000 Rent to purchase models Equity purchase models Outright Sale £14,000 £18,000 £22,000 Levels of household income £26,000 £30,000
Buckland Newton Community Property Trust ARCO2 Drawing of homes in Buckland Newton, Dorset
CLT National Demonstration Programme to date
• Appraised potential CLTs and held
workshops.
• Helped to support cross-party political
support.
• Proposed a legal definition for inclusion in
the Housing Regeneration Bill.
• Sought to overcome the conflict between
CLTs and the provision of the Leasehold Reform Act.
• Facilitated the practical involvement of
housing associations and development trusts.
• Promoted the ongoing use of the CLT
website and portal www.communitylandtrust.org.uk
www.talk.communitylandtrust.org.uk
Reaching the market and achieving scale
Idea Experimentation (Innovation/Refinement) Early replication (Innovation/Refinement) Best practice Standardisation Infrastructure building Wide scale roll-out Scale
CLT National Demonstration Programme Key Issues
• Better general understanding of how to use
and value the transfer of public assets
• Recognition that privately owned land is
available for local housing schemes.
• A CLT is a powerful localised tool in the
‘placeshaping’ agenda that can be initiated at a community/neighbourhood level.
• CLTs are one of a number of brands • CLTs need a statutory definition to
encourage brand recognition by communities, funders, public sector gatekeepers
• Clarify availability of public grant