How does a Community Land Trust Work?
CLTs exist to provide affordable homes, both for rent and for purchase. There are 175 CLTs in
England and Wales, which so far have delivered 560 homes. In some cases, land for development
is given to CLTs, free of charge, by a local authority for example. In other cases, CLTs may work
with developers, who donate the freehold to the CLT after they have made their profits. In Scotland
the focus has been more on the community ownership of land, rather than homes, after the law
was changed to allow residents to buy land that comes up for sale.
'Crewing the lifeboat'
Most CLTs are actually in rural areas rather than urban ones. Typically, they have been set up
where local house prices have risen far above what residents can afford. One example is at Rock,
in north Cornwall, where second home-owners have moved in to enjoy the beaches and the sailing,
so inflating prices. After a local farmer donated the first bit of land, residents got together to build
their own homes on it. So far 24 have been completed, with others in the pipeline.
While future prices are not linked to wages, their re-sale value is limited to 31.3% of what it would
be on the open market, ensuring future affordability. "That way," says Ted Rowe, the chairman of
the St Minver CLT, "the village can keep the young people who crew the lifeboat, and the older
ones who staff the coastguard." The government is expected to announce a programme of support
for similar coastal and rural CLTs in the Autumn Statement. It will be funded out of the extra stamp
duty chargeable on second homes.