Overview
- The Queen Camel Community Land Trust Limited was formed in 2011 with the initial aim of promoting affordable housing within the village for those on low wages who could not afford full market rents
- With average house prices in rural communities costing in excess of ten times the average annual income (£19,396), there was an urgent need for affordable homes across the district
- The community’s first project was the development of 20 highly insulated affordable housing units (16 for rent and 4 for shared ownership), to be occupied by residents who could demonstrate a strong connection to the local community
- With help from Wessex CLT Project, the CLT secured ownership of the land and granted a lease of 125 years to Hastoe HA to enable them to secure Homes and Communities Agency (now Homes England) funding as a Registered Provider
- Hastoe acted as the developer, with the CLT inputting into the design and materials used to build the new homes from the very beginning
- The homes were completed in 2015 with an investment of £868,000 from the Homes and Communities Agency
- The Homes are managed and maintained by Hastoe, leaving the CLT free to pursue other projects of benefit to the village, such finding a new use for the redundant Old School
Key Messages
- It’s possible for a CLT to access HCA/Homes England funding without the need to become a Registered Provider in its own right, by means of granting a lease of 125 years to a housing association while retaining the ownership of the land
- As the owner of land, by working with a housing association fulfilling the role of developer, it was able to able to determine the initial development, while being protected from the accompanying risks
- This model enables the CLT, as freeholder, to obtain an income from ground rents sufficient to cover its running costs and provide a small income for other projects, which means that it is financially sustainable in the long term
Where To Find Out More
More information about the CLT is here.
Information about Hastoe Housing Association’s involvement in the scheme is here and here.
The important support role played by Wessex CLT can be found here.
Published in March 2018
