2. Overview
• The idea is that a rural context might need a different
approach to urban CLTs.
• Britain is an urban nation – only 19% of people in
England live in a rural area
• But British CLTs are a rural phenomenon: of 150 CLTs in
England and Wales, 135 are rural – 90% of the national
movement
4. The context: Introducing rural Britain
• Commission for Rural Communities, 2008:
“For fifty years or more, policy has undervalued the
countryside and failed to meet the needs of rural
communities and of the nation... Rural communities have
slowly but relentlessly become less and less sustainable and
less and less self-sufficient.”
5. The context: Introducing rural Britain
• Lower earnings
• Higher house prices
• Older people
• Declining services
6. The context: Introducing rural Britain
• Lower earnings
• English median income: £22,000
• Rural median income: £19,300
8. The context: Introducing rural Britain
• Lower earnings
• Higher house prices
In 2010, average lower quartile house price in
urban areas = 7.2 x average lower quartile income
Average lower quartile house price in rural areas =
8.1 x average lower quartile income
• Older people
• Declining services
9. The context: Introducing rural Britain
• Lower earnings
• Higher house prices
• House prices rising faster than in urban
areas:
• E.g., South East England, house prices
increase 76% in 10 years
2003: £180,763 2013: £317,325
10. The context: Introducing rural Britain
• Lower earnings
• Higher house prices
• Older people
• Migration to rural areas: 54,000 in 2009/10
• Generally older people: 21% are over 65 (19%
in urban areas).
50% are over 45 years old
• Migration out of rural areas: Generally
younger people. E.g., Number of 30-44 year
olds in rural North East communities has
dropped 13.6% in the last decade.
• Declining services
11. The context: Introducing rural Britain
• Lower earnings
• Higher house prices
• Older people
• Declining services
• Pubs, schools, shops, community facilities
13. Where does it go wrong for rural
communities?
Planning restrictions
Not scaleable
Developers not
interested
Market housing
more profitable
NIMBYism
Monopoly in land
supply
14. So what about rural CLTs?
CLTs started by local community in response to this threat
(or opportunity)
19. What is the role of the community?
There are two main routes for delivering CLT homes in
rural England:
• “Go it alone” for the CLT (the traditional route)
• Partnership with a housing association (or
developer)
In both cases the CLT owns the land and homes
developed: this is the community’s primary and most
important role.
20. Go your own way…
• CLT owns the site and develops itself
• Once the homes are complete, the CLT is
responsible for management and allocations
• E.g., High Bickington CPT
• CLT bears all the risk of development, but retains
all the reward - including rents from the properties
• Requires a big time commitment from the CLT
volunteers!
21. A beautiful partnership…
• CLT owns the site and grants a long lease to a
housing association (or developer)
• Housing association develops the homes and
manages them
• Housing association bears the development
risks, but retains the rental income
• Break clause in the Agreement between the
parties allows the CLT to buy back their interest
after a period of time
• E.g., Worth Community Property Trust
22. A beautiful partnership…
• For a CLT:
• Limits the risk that they bear
• Access to expertise and financial capacity
• Builds reputation with local authorities
• Lessens the regulatory burden
• For the housing association
• Gets houses developed!
• Access to land and community support
• Access to public finance
• Enhances their reputation with
communities, and as an innovator
23. Who takes the initiative?
• Gatekeepers within the community: Parish
Council, Village forum
• Tradition of volunteering and “all mucking in”: existing
Trusts or new groups of people
• An individual with a vision, or an opportunity:
e.g., landowner
• Sparks from local authority, housing association or rural
community council?
25. Organising rural communities
SMALL POPULATION
Migration brings skilled
volunteers
Isolation
Limited knowledge transfer
Strong
identification with
community
Poverty
Less detachment
Easier to reach people
Gatekeeper
organisations
Structure
Entrenchment
Anti-development
lobby
26. Addressing the challenges
• Limited knowledge transfer
• Entrenched views of local organisations
• Anti-development lobby / hidden
poverty
32. Interested in finding out more?
National CLT Network
• Advice, resources, training and advocacy
• See it and believe it – grants to visit CLTs
Visit www.communitylandtrusts.org.uk or contact Catherine Harrington
on catherine.harrington@housing.org.uk or 020 7067 1191
CLT Fund
• Feasibility Fund
• Technical Assistance Fund
www.cltfund.org.uk Contact Hannah Fleetwood on
hannah.fleetwood@housing.org.uk or 020 7067 1039
33. • National CLT Network website:
www.communitylandtrusts.org.uk
• CLT Discussion Forum – Over 500 members
http://communitylandtrusts.ning.com
• Follow the Network on Twitter: @community_land
and Facebook
• Join the Network
• Contact us: catherine.harrington@housing.org.uk
or 020 7067 1191
Keep updated!
Migration stat is actually sig lower than previously, due to the economic downturn
So where does it all go wrong? Going back to our picture of rural England: what do you notice? No houses.
So where does it all go wrong? Going back to our picture of rural England: what do you notice? No houses.
Scale: traditionally smaller, but ambition multiple projects.
First spark – small steering group – wider public consultation and membership. The best groups find a number of different ways to keep local people involved/ ways in which they can offer their skills
As well as linking up with the grassroots experience, we aim to provide as many resources as we can which will be useful to groups on the ground – Legal and financial toolkitsPublication on partnering with housing associations, which has been incredibly popularWebsitePromotional material and films for groups to use with their communitiesModel policies and best practiceCase studies by way of proof of conceptCrucially: funding
Government now following re: policy – e.g. CRtB
The key ingredient: negotiating between the different entrenched bodies/ brokering and raising awareness