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Welcome

Welcome to the Autumn edition of the Homes of Our Own newsletter.

Since our last newsletter, we have seen the latest Government commitment to Community Led Housing come in the form of a new Community Housing Fund Revenue Programme, making £4m available to eligible community organisations, to help recover the revenue costs of project specific activities that will support the development of CLH proposals.

The CLH Hub has seen a huge uptake in applications which emphasises the growing interest in Community Led Housing.

We are continuing to work with groups remotely, but if you are aware of any new, emerging groups who would benefit from some support, please do point them in our direction.

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Happy Birthday Homes of Our Own

Can you believe that it has been 2 years since we launched Homes of Our Own? How are we doing?

We welcome your feedback!

Group Updates

Seend CLT and White Horse Housing Association Look at Plans

Seend Community Land Trust (CLT) became the owners of the land the CLT, a Community Interest Company (CIC), are bringing forward for affordable housing in partnership with White Horse Housing.

The site in Seend Cleeve has planning permission for 10 affordable units to be built to Passivhaus standard which will all be

affordable homes.

Seend Community Land Trust (CLT) became the owners of the land the CLT, a Community Interest Company (CIC), are bringing forward for affordable housing in partnership with White Horse Housing.

The site in Seend Cleeve has planning permission for 10 affordable units to be built to Passivhaus standard which will all be affordable homes.

It has been a long road to get to this point.  Seend CLT formed in 2017, gaining a legal status of a CIC in 2018.  They undertook a search and assessment of the land in the Parish and were presented with an opportunity at Park Farm, Seend Cleeve

George Clarke, Chairman Seend CLT said:

“This is a really significant step on the road to providing affordable homes in Seend. We couldn’t have got here without the support of ‘Homes of Our Own’ and White Horse Housing Association, I’m really looking forward to seeing this development completed and occupied.”

The next steps are now to tender for a developer to construct the site which is being designed by PK Architects to Passivhaus standards with them hoping to start on site by the end of the year.

Steve Warran, Chief Executive of White Horse Housing said:

“The purchase of the land is a significant step forward in bringing these new homes to reality. All the homes will be built to the highest environmental standards meaning they will be affordable to our residents with minimal impact on the environment. We will now start the process of finding a suitable contractor to undertake the building of this exciting and innovative project.”

The Passivhaus Trust describe Passivhaus buildings as those which “provide a high level of occupant comfort while using very little energy for heating and cooling. They are built with meticulous attention to detail and rigorous design and construction according to principles developed by the Passivhaus Institute in Germany, and can be certified through an exacting quality assurance process.”

Staffing Updates

Seend CLT and White Horse Housing Association Look at Plans

A lot has changed since our last newsletter. We have sadly said goodbye to Rebecca Lockwood-Norris, after all her hard work to get Homes of Our Own fully established with a wealth of information available, Rebecca has unfortunately moved onto pastures new.

Louise is currently enjoying her time at home with baby Carys and is due to return

back to work in the New Year. Rebecca and Louise were both working on a temporary basis but the Homes of Our Own hub work has now been encompassed on a permanent basis into a new role at Wiltshire Council called Residential Development Project Officer, Louise will be returning to this role and will be joined in the team by 4 new colleagues

Please welcome Rachael Swann, Rachel Robertson, Simon Marton plus a newly recruited officer who will join the team at the end of October to Homes of Our Own.

The new team will work on delivering all new affordable housing for Wiltshire Council’s development programme, as well as supporting all Community Led Housing groups within the County.  Therefore they will bring to your groups a wealth of knowledge, contacts and support to help bring your aspirations to reality.

Community First Update

Seend CLT and White Horse Housing Association Look at Plans

Volunteer with your local village hall or community building

Community First supports village halls in Wiltshire and Swindon through the Wiltshire Village Halls Association. Village halls and community buildings are important local meeting spaces for communities, particularly in rural areas

Volunteer with your local village hall or community building.

Community First supports village halls in Wiltshire and Swindon through the Wiltshire Village Halls Association. Village halls and community buildings are important local meeting spaces for communities, particularly in rural areas. Most village halls and community buildings are charities and are almost exclusively run by volunteers.

Many halls and buildings are looking for volunteers to get involved. If you would like to find out more about volunteering with your local hall, please visit the WVHA website to find contact details for the hall nearest your location.

Volunteers Week 2021

Community First celebrated the difference volunteers make to our charity.

The theme for this year’s Volunteers’ Week  was “a time to say thanks.”

It goes without saying that volunteers have played a key role in the pandemic response locally. During an exceptionally difficult year, people from all walks of life have taken the time to volunteer and make a huge difference to their communities.

A lot has changed since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic and volunteers has stepped up to deliver support and services under rapidly changing circumstances.

On behalf of WVHA, thank you so much for all that you do for the people and places we support and champion across the county.

“Reflecting on life as we come out of Lockdown, I am struck by our village’s spirit of community which has manifested itself during that time : the group that shopped and delivered essential supplies to the aged and vulnerable, the volunteers who helped when blood was donated and on polling day at the elections. Keeping the village hall clean was vital which Jackie and Tina not only carried out admirably but with such a positive spirit. And we should not forget the silent contributors: Nigel who, at the drop of a hat, sorted out the radiators without charge so there was heating when blood was being donated, Richard who managed to remain sane whilst trawling through and making sense of the Covid regulations and countless others who, without thanks or reward, just quietly and efficiently see and do what needs to be done.”

Figheldean Village Hall

Seend CLT and White Horse Housing Association Look at Plans

Do you need support with survey design as part of a community consultation?

Community First is working with a number of community groups, local councils and other organisations to design and launch community surveys on a variety of different subjects including neighbourhood planning, feedback on proposed new development 

and community feedback on local facilities and how they can be improved. We use a premium survey tool which allows for exceptional flexibility with an unlimited number of questions, question types and responses from members of the public.

We can take the hassle out of survey design by creating a bespoke survey branded with your logo and colour scheme. Surveys are user friendly, mobile optimised and easy to complete, with a full password protected data export at the close of the survey date. We can also provide technical support and a weekly update on the number of respondents, as well as advice on how to promote your survey to maximise responses.

For more information, please contact Harry Tipple: htipple@communityfirst.org.uk.

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The Community Led Homes Enabler Hub Grants Programme aims to expand the network of specialist regional organisations helping groups of local people to develop their own community led housing solutions. Funded by the Community Housing Fund from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). More information can be found at www.communityledhomes.org.uk/get-funding