The Hub has been inspirational in empowering and supporting our small community to do it for themselves.
Steve Vaux
Seend CLT
Community Led Housing Support Hub
Homes of Our Own offers a variety of help and support including establishing a Community Land Trust, or a community group, and to enable community led affordable housing projects. Support can be provided with finding funding or grant applications.
Any Town or Parish Council, Neighbourhood Forum, Community Land Trust or qualifying community group can receive support from Homes of Our Own. In order to be a qualifying group, a community group must be an incorporated organisation established to further the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of people living, or wanting to live, in a particular area.
What is Community Led Housing?
Community Led Housing is an exciting new approach to providing affordable homes. It is about local people being empowered to come together as a group to play a key part in the development of new homes, which benefit their community.
Types of Community Led Housing
There is no one model for Community Led Housing. Most community projects have differing characteristics and many projects will share and borrow elements of the various Community Led Housing models.
How we can help
Support for new groups
Any Town or Parish Council, Neighbourhood Forum, Community Land Trust or qualifying community group can receive support from Homes of Our Own. Find out how you could get started as a Community Led Housing group.
Support for formed groups
Homes of Our Own can offer practical advice and support to existing qualified groups to enable Community Led affordable housing projects. The hub can also offer support to access funding or with grant applications.
The process
The initial stage involves setting up a steering group and deciding on a clear purpose and goals, as well as choosing a legal framework for the group and developing a business plan.
The group will begin to investigate a suitable site for the project as well as considering a variety of factors which might impact the project including potential problems, overall costs and securing funding.
A planning application is made including detailed plans for the proposed homes, communal areas and gardens. A well-developed plan along with support from the local community will help when you reach the planning committee.
Not every group will have the knowledge or skills to physically build the homes (although this is an option for those who do). Some groups may hire a contractor to complete the development work and others may partner with a housing association at this stage of the process.
Congratulations! This is the final stage of the Community-Led Housing process and the new homes are ready for people to live in. The homes now need to be managed and maintained and groups will need to develop plans, policies and processes to do this effectively.
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