Community Led Housing & Sussex Community Housing Hub

Tom Warder

Community Led Housing Advisor

Evolution of the Service

2007 – 2013: Rural Housing Enabling Service

- 15 schemes, 250 homes / 2010: “affordable”rents?

2014 – 2017: Sussex Community Land Trust Project

- Pipeline of 12 CLT projects

2017 / 18: Community Housing Fund = Sussex Hub

- 5 year, £300m programme to support Community Led Housing

- “build collaboration, skills and supply chains at a local level to promote the sustainability of this approach...” (DCLG letter to Local Authorities Dec. 2016)

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Government commitment to Community Led Housing

£240m confirmed for 2018 – 2021 (Nov. 2017)

“Together with you I want to make the idea of communities building the homes they need not a radical departure, but an everyday reality”

“To empower more communities...delivering these houses is an overriding priority for this government”

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What is Community Led Housing? 1 – Community integrally involved throughout the process.

2 - Presumption in favour of a long-term role for the community 3 – Benefits to the community are defined and protected in perpetuity.

CLH is not…

• Just a more intensive engagement and consultation.

• A housing association scheme with local council or community backing.

• Completely different to a conventional housing development process.

• Dependent on free land or unusual subsidy.

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Approaches to CLH

Cohousing

Community Land Trusts Cooperatives Self/custom build

Self-help

Cohousing communities are created and run by their residents. Each household has a self-contained, private home but residents come together to manage their community and share activities. Cohousing is a way of combating the alienation and isolation many experience today, recreating the neighbourly support of the past.

Approaches to CLH

Cohousing

Community Land Trusts Cooperatives Self/custom build

Self-help

Community Land Trusts (CLTs) enable ordinary people to develop and manage homes as well as other assets important to that community, like community enterprises, food growing or workspaces. The CLT’s main task is to make sure these homes are genuinely affordable, based on what people actually earn in their area, not just for now but for every future occupier.

Approaches to CLH

Cohousing

Community Land Trusts Cooperatives Self/custom build

Self-help

Cooperative and mutual housing has a community membership comprising the residents and sometimes other local community members. They democratically control the housing organisation which can result in benefits for members such as a better service and new skills.

Approaches to CLH

Cohousing

Community Land Trusts Cooperatives Self/custom build

Self-help

All local authorities have a duty to maintain a register of individuals and groups interested in building their own homes, and to provide enough permissioned plots to meet that demand. Forming people into CLH groups can help to organise and develop their projects.

What is a CLT?

A non profit community based organisation that develops housing or other assets at permanently affordable levels for long term community benefit

Legal definition in the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008

225 in UK currently, 4 enabling organisations

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Key defining features of a CLT

• Community owned and controlled

• Open and democratic structure

• Permanently affordable homes or other assets

• Not for profit

• Long term stewardship

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Community Land Trust self build St Minver, Cornwall

All shared ownership

No Housing Grant

£85,000 build cost (simple

design)

Modest subsidy North

Cornwall DC

Managed self build - On time

& on budget

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Lyvennet Community Trust

Crosby Ravensworth

10 rented homes 2 shared ownership

7 self build plots

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Lyvennet Community Trust

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Photo Cumberland & Westmorland Herald

Pub bought & renovated with

community share issue

Keswick CLT

• 5 homes for rent @ £500 per month for a 3 bed house

• 5 shared ownership homes @ 50% of £265K

• 1 outright sale –with local occupancy restriction

• Some grant funding (HCA) and Community shares

• Professional team employed by the CLT; Architect, Quantity Surveyor & Housing Association

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“Buying from the CLT was the only form of ownership we

could afford. The size, quality and affordability has

completely changed our lives for the better.”

Gary and Lucie Wilson, Keswick

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2015 on site with 22 more homes

plus town center conversion to 4 flats

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Lay people now experts

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Sussex CLH projects

20 Projects: 16 CLT, 3 Co-Housing, 1 Community self build

• Angmering CLT – 12 homes social rented

• Icklesham CLT – 15 homes of rented and shared ownership with Hastoe HA

• Lewes CLT – 15 homes, Self-finish CLT scheme in the town

• Ford CLT – 1500 homes via Neighbourhood Plan

• Urban infill sites - Burgess Hill, Bexhill, Eastbourne

• LA role…sites, planning, valuations

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Angmering CLT-Mayflower Way

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USP of Community Led Housing

• Local control - allocations assured - permanence

• Creating community support

• Locally affordable

• Income generating & re-investment

• Control over location & design

• Delivering actions from neighbourhood plans

• Versatility - housing, social enterprise - Innovation

• Closer community & landowner involvement • Enabling the long term stewardship of community

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Why Local Authorities support CLH

1. Improving housing supply and providing permanently affordable housing

2. Supporting regeneration and returning empty homes to use

3. Empowering communities so they come self-sufficient, cohesive, resilient and sustainable

4. Involving residents in addressing housing need

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How LAs enable / support Community-Led Housing

1. Leadership (policy – e.g. East Cambs. DC)

2. A policy environment supportive of CLH (e.g: Arun DC Housing Strategy)

3. Land made available through planning policy

4. Council assets provided through sale or asset transfer (resources)

5. Funding by local authorities

6. Enabling support

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Hub Services

• Robust business planning and feasibility

• Technical assistance - finance & development issues

• Access funding, grants & loans

• Advise on company forms.

• Link to legal experts and project partners.

• Enabling groups to make informed choices

• Support CLTs, Co-housing, Self-build, Coops etc.

• Guidance throughout

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Website

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