Groups of people are getting together to help create more affordable housing in their local areas, while strengthening their communities.

A community land trust, or CLT, is an organisation that owns, develops or manages land and buildings for the benefit of local residents. Through public and charitable financing, land is acquired and held in perpetuity by the trust. Houses built on it are kept affordable because the land is not included in any sale or rental of the homes.

With roots in the co-operative movement, which began in 19th century Britain, the CLT concept emerged in America in the late 1960s, where over 250 are now running. There is a small but escalating number operating in both rural and urban areas of the UK, with the first modern example being established in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, in 1983.

As a response to large increases in land prices, the Stonesfield Community Trust was formed to give people on local wages a better chance of living in the village. It now owns 15 flats and houses, as well as a local post office and other premises.

CLTs are similar to small housing associations and other development initiatives but are more directly focused on community aspirations. The trusts are owned and controlled democratically by residents, who join by buying shares. Each member has one vote, irrelevant of the number of shares that they own and any profits from CLT’s activities are invested back into projects for the benefit of the community.

One of these new CLTs now exists in Bishops Castle, Shropshire — a vibrant market town situated close to the Welsh border, in an area of outstanding natural beauty. Driven by a group of active volunteers, the Bishops Castle and District Community Land Trust, BCCLT, aims to provide affordable housing and small business premises to local people. It also intends to reserve land for uses such as allotments, market gardens, woodlands, orchards, local amenities and community owned renewable energy projects.

The aims were established following a survey, which revealed that almost a quarter of respondents in the town identified themselves as being in housing need. The majority of these were young people living with their parents or on a friend’s sofa, unable to find suitable, affordable accommodation to buy or rent and who did not qualify for social housing.

“You can be in a decent job, as far as the local wage rates go, but still not be in a position to afford anywhere,” explains BCCLT director, Jim Gaffney. “In small communities in desirable places, prices have shot up beyond the reach of people who were born there and are in lower-earning categories. The wealthier, older people are buying up accommodation, where traditionally the younger or lower-earning people would have lived, such as the labourers’ cottages on the farms and small terraces in the town. These have been bought and done-up, used as retirement properties, second homes or holiday lets,” says Jim.

However, in response, BCCLT is now steadily working towards its first development of two affordable, one-bedroom, semi-detached houses in the centre of the town. These will be built on land behind the property of a local resident, who has agreed to sell below market value.

The government has expressed support for community land trusts and awarded funding to Carnegie UK to help promote the development of this new sector. The organisation reported that the provision of affordable housing for rural working families is the most pressing social issue of our time. This year, Carnegie UK are aiming to establish an independent body to facilitate CLTs.

In the meantime, Shropshire Council are showing faith in BCCLT and backing their first project, valuing the model as one vital element of solving housing problems. “We’re only addressing a small part of the housing need,” says Jim, “but it’s important as it buys people into the principal. It can strengthen community; incredibly so. It gives people confidence that from within their small community, they can address these kind of problems.”

Jim also points out how young people are often told there are going to be new schemes or facilities to benefit them but these do not materialise, or they turn out not suiting their real needs: “I think it’s a credibility issue,” he says, “but young people really have responded amazingly to BCCLT. There are those here in the building and joinery trades for example, who would love to be involved.”

The CLT model also has wider, more positive implications for society. “I think that this kind of initiative is necessary, because it’s connected to the need for stable economies,” says Jim. “The evident unsustainability of our huge consumption economy, gives rise to the inequality of income between different areas of the country,” he adds, suggesting that we will need to re-localise our economies. “When you have public ownership at a local level, it builds resilience into the local economy and generates a sense of responsibility. That goes for building stuff, growing stuff and generating energy.”

The Trust has been raising awareness about its work through a series of events, such as barbeques and music nights, with a cabaret, magic show and ska and reggae festival in the pipeline. “They have been great nights. People have really enjoyed them,” reveals Jim. “They have shown there’s a positive association between the Trust and what’s going on locally.”

BCCLT encourages as many residents as possible to be shareholders. “The more that join, the more we can serve its aims,” Jim explains. The Trust also welcomes those who might not live in the area, but support their objectives, to buy shares. The minimum stake is5, which can be sold back to the Land Trust if necessary.

Contact: Bishops Castle Community Land Trust,
Enterprise House, Station Street,
Bishops Castle, Shropshire, SY9 5AQ
Tel: +44 (0)1588 638712
Websites: www​.bcclt​.co​.uk
www​.communitylandtrust​.org​.uk

Bishops Castle, a picturesque
market town in Shropshire
Photo: © BCCLT