'Life changing'
In a couple of weeks, the first of 23 families will move in to an old mental health hospital in Tower
Hamlets that has been converted into flats. They will pay a third of market value. When they come
to sell, the price they are allowed to charge will be limited by the increase in local wages, as
measured by the Office for National Statistics. Amongst the buyers are Rachael and Nathaniel
Evans and their young son Griffin. Despite their joint income of £33,000, and savings of nearly
£70,000, they have been unable to afford anything in the area. But now, thanks to the local
Community Land Trust (CLT), they will soon be moving into a home of their own. "It is amazing. It
is life-changing for us," says Nathaniel, who has lived in Tower Hamlets all his life. "I imagine
walking into the flat and thinking, 'this is ours,' and we don't have to leave.