There is a Community Land Trust (CLT) in the offing in Ringmer. A CLT is “established for the express purpose of furthering the social, economic and environmental interests of a local community by acquiring and managing land and other assets” (from the definition provided by the national CLT network). CLTs have a formidable historical and global pedigree. In this country they are part of the thinking of visionaries like Octavia Hill and John Ruskin, and they have taken various forms over the last century and a half. They are also exist all over the world, with many examples in the United States, Canada and India as well as the UK
The idea of a CLT in Ringmer emerged during the setting up of the Neighbourhood Plan, and the suggested body could be an important part of the mechanism that protects Ringmer's interests in the future. The UK's population is set to continue to rise to about 77 million by 2050. The south east is the place most people want to be, and it is unlikely that either formal or informal changes in infrastructure will see pressure on the south east ease in the next three or four decades. So I expect the population of Ringmer to rise, which means more houses and more facilities in the same space that we have now. The CLT promises to be part of the way in which we ensure that this process is managed as sustainably as possible. (The above is the view of this blog, not necessarily of those who piloted the Neighbourhood Plan or of those who are promoting the CLT. A debt is owed to John Kay and to many others for the work they have done on both these entities so far.)
The current form of a CLT is determined by the Housing and Regeneration Act of 2008 as quoted above. The CLT acts as a lock on any land or other asset that it owns. The main issues are explained very well in the Key Features section of the Wikipedia article on Community Land Trusts. Any increase in value remains the property of the Trust, and, although the Trust can have members, there is no profit, no sharing of dividend, no way for individuals to make money from it.
Most CLTs deal in affordable (whatever that means)* or intermediate value housing. There are a number of technical problems about this, for which various solutions can be found. As I understand it, this is a typical scenario:
The CLT acquires land on which a house can be built. The land is priced at a very low level. The house is built, at normal cost. It goes on the market at a price that recoups the cost of building, but does not add anything for the price of the land. It can be made available for purchase by a local resident. Criteria can be determined for who counts as local. A key problem is to make sure that the new owner does not simply sell the house on at a profit. There are various mechanisms for ensuring that this does not happen. (An increase in the sale price of the house is permissible, and in fact necessary, otherwise the owner will not find anywhere else affordable to move to. But the Trust seeks to avoid a profit being made on the land that the house stands on.)
An alternative is that the house becomes an asset of a local housing association, which is able to rent it out to local people, again according to predetermined criteria. The Trust never takes any responsibility for managing such facilities. Its responsibility is solely with the land on which the facility is based.
Trusts can hold land for other purposes. One Trust has reinvested its profits in a nursery and a water mill. Another has a local pub set up on its land. (link) Three possible avenues have been suggested for Ringmer. One is affordable housing. One is to expand the cemetery, which will run out of space sooner rather than later. A third is to hold land that can be managed as a nature reserve, and might be positioned so as to prevent expansion of housing beyond certain boundaries.
Anybody can form a CLT. It does not even need the involvement of local government at either district or parish level, although it will undoubtedly benefit from that. Membership of the Trust can be according to agreed criteria. Living, and possibly working, locally is the usual requirement, but even the word “local” has to be defined. Membership may involve payment of a small fee. Once the Trust has been set up, it is the membership who decide for what purpose the land will be used, what amenities will be available, who counts as local, and so on. The Trust will have no employees, and will be, in the jargon, extremely risk averse with whatever assets it holds. To work it needs wide community involvement, and it needs people with skills to run it - chair, organiser, negotiator, housing, legal, planning, budgeting, community connections.
For further news, watch this space. Anyone who is interested in pursuing it should get in touch with the Parish Council.
*Affordable is defined by the government as up to 80% of market price. Which in many places is anything but affordable.
The idea of a CLT in Ringmer emerged during the setting up of the Neighbourhood Plan, and the suggested body could be an important part of the mechanism that protects Ringmer's interests in the future. The UK's population is set to continue to rise to about 77 million by 2050. The south east is the place most people want to be, and it is unlikely that either formal or informal changes in infrastructure will see pressure on the south east ease in the next three or four decades. So I expect the population of Ringmer to rise, which means more houses and more facilities in the same space that we have now. The CLT promises to be part of the way in which we ensure that this process is managed as sustainably as possible. (The above is the view of this blog, not necessarily of those who piloted the Neighbourhood Plan or of those who are promoting the CLT. A debt is owed to John Kay and to many others for the work they have done on both these entities so far.)
The current form of a CLT is determined by the Housing and Regeneration Act of 2008 as quoted above. The CLT acts as a lock on any land or other asset that it owns. The main issues are explained very well in the Key Features section of the Wikipedia article on Community Land Trusts. Any increase in value remains the property of the Trust, and, although the Trust can have members, there is no profit, no sharing of dividend, no way for individuals to make money from it.
Most CLTs deal in affordable (whatever that means)* or intermediate value housing. There are a number of technical problems about this, for which various solutions can be found. As I understand it, this is a typical scenario:
The CLT acquires land on which a house can be built. The land is priced at a very low level. The house is built, at normal cost. It goes on the market at a price that recoups the cost of building, but does not add anything for the price of the land. It can be made available for purchase by a local resident. Criteria can be determined for who counts as local. A key problem is to make sure that the new owner does not simply sell the house on at a profit. There are various mechanisms for ensuring that this does not happen. (An increase in the sale price of the house is permissible, and in fact necessary, otherwise the owner will not find anywhere else affordable to move to. But the Trust seeks to avoid a profit being made on the land that the house stands on.)
An alternative is that the house becomes an asset of a local housing association, which is able to rent it out to local people, again according to predetermined criteria. The Trust never takes any responsibility for managing such facilities. Its responsibility is solely with the land on which the facility is based.
Trusts can hold land for other purposes. One Trust has reinvested its profits in a nursery and a water mill. Another has a local pub set up on its land. (link) Three possible avenues have been suggested for Ringmer. One is affordable housing. One is to expand the cemetery, which will run out of space sooner rather than later. A third is to hold land that can be managed as a nature reserve, and might be positioned so as to prevent expansion of housing beyond certain boundaries.
Anybody can form a CLT. It does not even need the involvement of local government at either district or parish level, although it will undoubtedly benefit from that. Membership of the Trust can be according to agreed criteria. Living, and possibly working, locally is the usual requirement, but even the word “local” has to be defined. Membership may involve payment of a small fee. Once the Trust has been set up, it is the membership who decide for what purpose the land will be used, what amenities will be available, who counts as local, and so on. The Trust will have no employees, and will be, in the jargon, extremely risk averse with whatever assets it holds. To work it needs wide community involvement, and it needs people with skills to run it - chair, organiser, negotiator, housing, legal, planning, budgeting, community connections.
For further news, watch this space. Anyone who is interested in pursuing it should get in touch with the Parish Council.
*Affordable is defined by the government as up to 80% of market price. Which in many places is anything but affordable.
