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Supporting care experienced young people and care leavers in Wales, through education, into employment and living independently. sunflower lounge

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Community Land Trusts - CLTs are changing the country

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We Can Make – a low-carbon community-led solution to the housing crisis

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Meet our Communities Creating Homes team

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A vision for the future of community-led housing in Wales

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This toolkit contains essential information and key resources to help you set up and run a successful community-led housing (CLH)...

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Hastings Commons – Taking Action For The Common Good

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Hastings Commons represents an innovative model of community-driven revitalisation, with a do-it-yourself ethos. We are the stewards of a diverse collection of structures situated within the White Rock district of Hastings.

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Our Communities Creating Homes project offers support and advice to new and existing organisations looking to develop community-led housing schemes…

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Cohousing communities are intentional communities, created and run by their residents. Each household has a self-contained, private home as well as shared community space. Residents come together to manage their community, share activities, and regularly eat together.

Cohousing is a way of resolving the isolation many people experience today, recreating the neighbourly support of the past. This can happen anywhere, in your street or starting a new community using empty homes or building new.

Cohousing communities can be inter-generational, welcoming anyone of any age and any family structure, or specifically to cater for people who are older or are communities of common interest, for example for women or LGBT groups.

Cohousing communities are formed on the basis of a set of five primary principles

Cohousing is co-designed with intentional communities

The initial group contribute significantly to the design of the cohousing community and take an active role in creating the community.

Cohousing includes both the provision of private and common facilities providing a balance between privacy and community

Most cohousing communities have a common house, with shared facilities such as cooking and dining spaces, meeting and playing areas, laundries and guest rooms. This may mean that the private dwellings are smaller as residents also have the benefit of the common facilities. Shared outside space for gardens, childrens' play, parties and food growing often feature in a cohousing project.

The size and scale of cohousing is appropriate to support community dynamics for easy informal communal contact; this is usually between 10-40 households.

Where possible, design is used to encourage social interaction, for example by keeping cars to the periphery and putting a common house in centre of the site. Many communities eat together regularly, and so the common house is designed with large dining facilities.

Cohousing embeds collective resident control and stewardship into its legal form and decision making

Residents manage their own community, looking after the maintenance and development of it, running the finances, tending the gardens, organising shared activities. The community is governed in a non hierarchical way, often using consensus decision making. All adult residents are encouraged to take part in decision making; some communities also require residents to undertake a set number of hours work for the community.

Cohousing communities are inclusive and part of the wider community

Cohousing communities actively encourage open membership. People wishing to join a group will need to work out if cohousing is right for them. Cohousing groups often host wider community activities in the shared space and common house.

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About cohousing Cohousing communities are intentional communities, created and run by their residents. Each household has a self-contained, private home

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Diogelu'r Cymraeg trwy tai dan arweiniad y gymuned

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Diogelu'r Cymraeg trwy tai dan arweiniad y gymuned

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History

We set up Bunker Housing Co-operative in 2014 after five years of trying to find affordable housing in Brighton & Hove. We started with two families with young children and teenagers but have grown and now have a membership of 10 adults plus children.

As we lived in precarious, damp and overpriced private rented accommodation and were not able to buy and not eligible (enough) for social housing OUR MISSION was to have affordable safe, secure and healthy homes and also to demonstrate that sustainable, affordable and high quality homes are not a luxury for the selected few.

We understood that affordable to live in does not mean building cheaply - we set ourselves and our architects this challenge. Creating a new housing co-op was a pragmatic decision as a pathway to housing - not about alternative living but alternative form of (collective) ownership

At the heart of our delivery plan is the building of more affordable and environmentally sustainable homes, using our experience and learning from our Plumpton Road pilot development, completed April 2020. This project has delivered an innovative scheme that has received national and local acclaim.

It has been quite a journey since we founded Bunker and we are working with a network of organisations and individuals to move our projects forward. These include: our architect Raphael Lee of AURAA Studio, our loan stock investors, our neighbours, the Officers and Councillors of Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC), Brighton & Hove Community Land Trust (BHCLT) and the Community Led Housing (CLH) enablers who work through the CLH Hub, Jon Lee and Ecology Building Society, Brighton & Hove Energy Services Co-operative (BHESCO), Cooperative Development Society (CDS), Rosa Bridge Housing Co-op and others from local Brighton & Hove co-operative networks: Cooperative Housing in Brighton and Hove (CHIBAH), the Confederation Cooperative Housing (CCH), the London Federation Cooperatives (LFHC), Radical Routes and many others who have offered their time, money and expertise to help us realise our dreams of safe, secure and affordable housing for us and our families.

Bunker is currently working with our architects, BHCC and BHCLT at different stages of development on further BHCC sites throughout the city with and we aim to build a further 15 community led homes.

Our pilot project at Plumpton Road is being used to build a tool kit and database of skills, contacts and information that is already helping the many other co-ops planning to build in the city over the coming years.

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We set up Bunker Housing Co-operative in 2014 after five years of trying to find affordable housing in Brighton & Hove. We started with two families with young children and teenagers but have grown and now have a membership of 10 adults plus children.

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Christmas 2023

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Safeguarding the Welsh language through CLH

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Safeguarding the Welsh language through CLH

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We've built our own community

We are a group of women over fifty who have created our own community in a new, purpose-built block of flats in North London. As an alternative to living alone, we have friendly, helpful neighbours.

Students / researchers

Students intending to embark on cohousing dissertations should be alert to the high volume of such requests we receive that we find it impossible to meet. We have tried to make this website as helpful as possible, so please make use of it.

We have compiled an extensive Resources page that should be your first port of call.

﻿Leading the way

We are carving out a path for other 50+ year-olds to follow. We hope they have an easier journey than ours, now we have shown the way. The senior cohousing community could enrich the lives of many, and reduce pressures on health and care services, if local authorities, planners, policy makers and housing developers helped to remove the many obstacles society puts in its way.

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We've built our own community We are a group of women over fifty who have created our own community in a new, purpose-built block of flats in North London. As an alternative to living alone, we have friendly, helpful neighbours.

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Documentary short taking a close-up look at inspirational Swansea housing co-operative Golem and the stories behind some of the members who choose to live there.

The Golem Housing Co-operative was set up nearly ten years ago by an eclectic group of people that not only wanted housemates but also more social and economic control over how they chose to live.

Following the co-operative recently purchasing their second house, the programme explores how they work and hears some of the stories of the members who choose to live there.

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BBC Two - New Voices from Wales, Series 5, More Than a Home

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A close-up look at an inspirational Swansea housing co-operative.

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Assessing the potential benefits of living in CLH

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Assessing the potential benefits of living in CLH

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Assessing the potential benefits of living in co-operative and/or community led housing (full report)

Full report (72-pages) featuring detailed statistics and analysis.

Download

Assessing the potential benefits of living in co-operative and/or community led housing (executive summary)

Summary report (12-pages) featuring key findings.

Download

If you are interested in learning more about co-operative and community-led housing, please visit

Communities Creating Homes

Community ownership of local assets

Co-op housing in lockdown

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Assessing the potential benefits of living in co-operative and/or community led housing (CCLH)

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On the green roof of La Borda we have 20 photovoltaic panels since the summer of 2020. The installation produces a quarter of all the building's consumption. In addition to a sustainable investment that we hope to recover in less ... Read More

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On the green roof of La Borda we have 20 photovoltaic panels since the summer of 2020. The installation produces a quarter of all the building's consumption. In addition to a sustainable investment that we hope to recover in less ... Read More

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Gŵyr CLT is working towards building a cohousing site of 14 households, with a common house containing shared facilities, and outdoor space for play, food production and wildlife.

The site will be pedestrianised as far as possible, with peripheral car parking, creating a safe and sociable public realm. A larger shared garden will be prioritised, with only small private gardens associated with each house.

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Gŵyr CLT is working towards building a cohousing site of 14 households, with a common house containing shared facilities, and outdoor space for play, food production and wildlife. The site will be pedestrianised as far as possible, with peripheral car parking, creating a safe and sociable public realm.

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I feel very fortunate to have been here for the lockdown as I have felt protected and supported, otherwise I would have been entirely on my own. The support has been physical and psychological, and I have space to move around in. We have experience in respecting each other's wishes, which helped with social distancing. These things are, I believe, unique to cohousing.

Living In Co-operative & Community-Led Housing During COVID (full report)

Full report (39-pages) featuring detailed statistics and analysis.

Download

Living In Co-operative & Community-Led Housing During COVID (executive summary)

Summary report (10-pages) featuring key findings.

Download

If you are interested in learning more about co-operative and community-led housing, please visit

Communities Creating Homes

Community ownership of local assets

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Living in co-operative & community-led housing during COVID-19

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10 House Project — Granby 4 Streets Community Land Trust

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A Community Land Trust delivering community led regeneration within Granby, Liverpool 8.

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About Us We are a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and hope to become a fully mutual housing co-operative when the time is right. We are a group of likeminded and dynamic women from diverse backgrounds. We are looking to expand our membership with families and individuals who subscribe to Serenity's mission, ethos and values.

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Kath and Rosie presenting at the International Social Housing Festival in Barcelona 2023!

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Those little connections: Community-led housing and loneliness

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Those little connections: Community-led housing and loneliness

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As we emerge from the restrictions of Covid, we find ourselves still in the midst of a wider pandemic: that of loneliness. The painful separations forced on us by the virus may be coming to an end, but loneliness remains. This is especially the case for older people living on their own-though they are far from the only sufferers.

The experience of Covid lockdowns demonstrated how profoundly our social interactions are conditioned by the homes we live in. But not everyone lives in conventional single-family homes and flats. Community-led housing (CLH), including cohousing, community land trusts, cooperatives, self-help and self-build housing, emphasises resident decision-making, collaboration and inclusion. Living in these environments, with their common spaces and shared activities, seems intuitively like a good way to counter loneliness and is the reason many choose to take part in them. Until recently though, this had never been tested empirically.

In 2019, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (now the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) commissioned research to see if participation in community-led housing (cohousing in particular) could be shown to reduce loneliness. Researchers from four universities (LSE, Bristol, Lancaster and Northumbria) began work in late 2019, before anyone had even heard of COVID-19. Our fieldwork eventually concluded in January 2021, after two periods of national lockdown, which for many added significantly to feelings of loneliness.

Advocates of CLH claim that these neighbourly communities promote social interaction. But might it be that those who choose to live in CLH are simply more sociable people? To test this, we carried out an online survey of residents and members of CLH communities. Using questions from large-scale national surveys, we then matched the responses from 221 CLH residents with those of similarly sociable people living in conventional housing. We found that statistically, those living in CLH were indeed less lonely than others, and were more likely to trust neighbours and to feel a sense of belonging in their communities.

To understand why this was the case we looked in depth at five CLH schemes covering a range of organisational models, resident demographics, locations and ages:

1. Lancaster Cohousing, a purpose-built intergenerational cohousing scheme on a riverbank outside Lancaster;

2. New Ground (Older Women's Cohousing), a cohousing community for older women in Barnet, north London;

3. Tangram Co-op, an intergenerational co-op housed in a number of Victorian houses in Leeds, with some residents who had lived there for more than 40 years;

4. 325 Fishponds Road (Bristol CLT), a recently built scheme of 12 houses around a communal garden; and

5. The Yard at Ashley Vale, a neighbourhood of self-build homes, also in Bristol.

We found that loneliness was reduced by joint activities, the use of shared space, and by physical design. The most tight-knit places, where members knew and trusted each other most, performed best as supportive communities. Shared space and doing things together seemed to be key: not all the case studies were purpose-built or designed, but all had communal areas and enabled activities like exercising, eating or playing together.

A feeling of belonging helped counter emotional loneliness. When Covid hit, communities quickly formed mutual support networks, drawing on their experience of working together to clean common areas or maintain their homes. Beyond Covid, many CLH communities also have established systems (formal or informal) to support members through challenges like the birth of a child, poor health or the loss of a partner.

While cohousing schemes in particular are set up intentionally to be mutually supportive, intentionality is not a prerequisite for reduced loneliness; we also found social connection, belonging, friendship and support among residents of housing schemes that were not intentional communities.

Our report - available here in full- concluded with eight summary recommendations:

1) Support resident control over management and decision-making

Residents' involvement in running their communities increases their sense of agency, belonging and wellbeing, which in turn reduces loneliness. We recommend that self-management, decision-making and mediation be supported through training.

2) Promote the design of spaces for social interaction

Shared spaces (indoor and out) contribute to organised and casual social interactions in CLH communities. We recommend support for the inclusion, careful design and maintenance of shared spaces in all new CLH schemes.

3) Help CLH communities that want to provide facilities for neighbourhood use

Many CLH communities allow neighbours to use their gardens or common rooms for classes, performances, meetings and other events, benefitting local people. We recommend that CLH communities be encouraged and supported - though not required - to provide spaces for neighbourhood use.

4) Support efforts to improve the data nationally on CLH

Data on CLH were fragmented and poor. We recommend support for efforts to improve data to help decision-makers and stakeholders better understand the sector.

5) Promote inclusivity

Public interest in CLH is strong, but many who could benefit do not currently see CLH as an option. We recommend that strategies are adopted to increase inclusivity and affordability for underserved demographics.

6) Encourage and support tenure security

Lack of tenure security, especially for private tenants, weakens the sense of belonging and participation-key factors in loneliness reduction. We recommend support for CLH models that ensure equal security for all residents.

7) Adapt CLH features for existing housing, and non-CLH new-build schemes

CLH schemes can be seen as incubators for loneliness prevention strategies that could serve as examples for the wider housing sector. DLUHC should investigate how CLH's beneficial features could be incorporated into existing housing and conventional new-build schemes.

8) Reinvigorate targeted funding streams to make CLH options more widely available

Government funding would help groups, communities and the constituent organisations of Community Led Homes to enact our recommendations. Long-term sustainable capital funding is essential for groups to plan and deliver schemes that by their nature need continuity of funding. We recommend DLUHC investigate the scope for reinvigorating targeted funding streams, whether through the Community Housing Fund or other avenues.

The full report can be read HERE

About the author

Posted In: Alternative Housing

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'Those little connections': Community-led housing and loneliness

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Report for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, November 2021 As we emerge from the restrictions of Covid, we find ourselves still in the midst of a wider pandemic: that of lon...

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Ulva Ferry Housing Phase 2 | Mull and Iona Community Trust

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Ymddiriedolaeth Drefol Nefyn Town Trust. 558 likes. Mae'r Elusen yn darparu llefydd i fyw ar osod am bris rhesymol yn nhref Nefyn ac yn cyfrannu'n a

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THE LIGHTS are now burning brightly in Staffin as six families have moved into their new homes.

The three-bedroom houses are now fully occupied by the new residents of the Taighean a' Chaiseil development in Stenscholl.

It is the first affordable housing development in the Taobh Sear since 1999 and was led by Staffin Community Trust in response to the falling population and primary school roll and spiralling house prices, which made it difficult for families to compete.

The site, close to the Kilmartin River and a short walking distance from Bun Sgoil Stafainn, was sold by the Stenscholl crofting township and Scottish Ministers to SCT in 2020.

SCT and its partners, the Communities Housing Trust (CHT) and Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association (LSHA), delivered the £1.6 million project which includes a new health centre and business premises.

Around 12 adults and eight children have moved into the new homes. Staffin's population had reduced by 40 people (6.6 per cent) from 610 residents to 568 people in just four years, prior to SCT starting the project feasibility back in 2014.

SCT director Donald MacDonald said: "It is great to see this project moving towards completion after many years of hard work by the trust. Unfortunately, this project does not address the underlying issues, faced by many young people and families, in relation to spiralling property costs, lack of affordable housing and general investment in rural communities. We are grateful for the help we have received from public agencies and The Scottish Government but there is a need to find easier and more effective ways to help those most in need and allow communities to control to have a stronger say in the process.

New Taighean a' Chaiseil resident Paul Young said: "We're happy that the children are in safe walking distance to school. It's nice that these houses have been built together in Staffin, it's in the perfect location for families, giving the children more independence with being able to walk to school and play with their friends. The houses are very cosy and enjoy an amazing view. We are looking forward to making our house our home."

Another new resident Karen Hutchison added: "I love the wee community feeling between all the residents. It's so lovely seeing all the kids popping into each other's' houses, outside playing and walking to school together."

Scottish Government grant funding was crucial with support from the Land Fund enabling the site to be transferred to community ownership, and the Rural and Islands Housing Fund a key contributor to the capital package.

Housing secretary Shona Robison MSP said: "Good quality, affordable housing is essential to help attract and retain people in our remote and rural communities. The Scottish Government provided over £650,000 through our Rural and Islands Housing Fund and mainstream Affordable Housing Supply Programme which made it possible for the community to take on this ambitious project and deliver six affordable homes.

"The Rural and Islands Housing Fund has been described as a 'game changer' for community-led housing development, increasing the supply of affordable housing. Taken together with our Affordable Housing Supply Programme, more than 6,000 affordable homes in rural and island communities have been delivered between 2016-17 and 2020/21."

Skye architects Rural Design worked on the project which was constructed by island firm, James MacQueen Building Contractors Ltd.

​The new community-owned health centre and business premises are due to be tenanted in March and April by NHS Highland and the local aquaculture company, Organic Sea Harvest, respectively.

Key funders also included LEADER, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the SSE Sustainable Development Fund, the Ecology Building Society, the Quaker Housing Trust and a crowdfunding campaign, plus a guarantor loan from Highland Council.

The homes are a mix of affordable rent, managed by LSHA and SCT, and discounted sale, managed by CHT, where the affordability is protected in perpetuity for the local community through the Rural Housing Burden. People with connections to the area were prioritised as a way to promote the ongoing sustainability of rural communities.

SCT will use the rental income from the properties to manage and maintain the new development. It is hoped to organise a formal opening event in early summer.

Ronnie MacRae, CHT chief executive, said: "CHT are delighted to have been able to support this community-led project from beginning to end, developing the concept of mixed use, mixed partner site including the innovative business plan and helping to acquire the land. Congratulations to SCT who have delivered this mixed development of homes and amenities that will enable a stronger more resilient Staffin and provide a template and confidence for many other similar communities to follow. Key to success was the support of Scottish Government and Highland Council amongst others who recognised the need to provide a range of affordable housing tenures, for flexibility and choice, alongside working with HIE and the NHS to provide essential amenities that will improve social and economic opportunities going forward."

Dr Audrey Sinclair, LSHA chair said: "I wish to congratulate Staffin Community Trust and all their partners involved in this unique mixed use and tenure development. SCT rose admirably to the many challenges from inception to completion of this project and the housing association is so pleased to have played a part in assisting SCT achieve their vision."

The new development was designed to complement the landscape with Rural Design's Alan Dickson mindful of the National Scenic Area designation which blankets Staffin. It includes significant stonework with walls and a gable end feature and the use of timber and traditional slated roofs.

Mr Dickson said: "It's fantastic to see families moving in. It has been quite a journey for the Staffin Community Trust and their partners to achieve this, and shows what can happen when a group comes together, and doesn't take no for an answer. We are so pleased to have been able to help and demonstrate that new housing can be part of our areas of outstanding natural beauty. Hopefully this can now encourage other rural communities to do the same."

James MacQueen, of James MacQueen Building Contractors Ltd, said: "We are delighted to have worked on such an important local housing, health and business project in north Skye that supports and encourages community sustainability and growth.

"The first new affordable housing development in Staffin for 23 years, achieved through the dedication of the Staffin Community Trust supported by Communities Housing Trust, Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association and project funders - it demonstrates what can be achieved when we collaborate and work together. We are immensely proud to be involved in delivering the much-needed affordable housing, creating homes for future generations and reinvigorating the local community. We wish the new Taighean a' Chaiseil residents all the very best in their new homes."

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Families make their homes in new Skye community housing development

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Residents have moved into their new affordable homes in the community-led development in Staffin, Skye

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The people behind this project share a common belief in the power of community and a strong commitment to the Chapeltown/Harehills area of Leeds. It might not be everyone's idea of paradise, but this is where we belong and we want to see it flourishing.

How it started

In 2010, the members of a small housing co-op on Spencer Place invited some friends living nearby to explore the idea of setting up a cohousing scheme in the neighbourhood. We were inspired by the example of Lilac who were about to start construction of their own cohousing scheme in Bramley. But we wanted to do it here in Chapeltown, in our own wonderful corner of Leeds.

That's how the vision started, and since then we've found plenty of other Chapeltown residents who are interested in joining us to create a neighbourhood where co-operation and sharing are built in from the start.

We want a community that's...

Sustainable - globally, economically and socially. We want the buildings and our lifestyles to have as low a carbon footprint as possible. But we don't want to take on massive debts to achieve this. And we want people to enjoy living here - or else, what's the point?

Supportive - looking out for each other and sharing the responsibilities of keeping the show on the road. Also being generous with our time and possessions.

Open - We don't want to be a ghetto or walled community. We want our children to be able to play safely outside - but we don't want to keep others out. We'd like to get to know our new neighbours in the streets around, and maybe make some of our communal facilities available to them. We don't want to make it hard for people to join our community - and we don't want to fall into the trap of thinking that we've got all the answers.

Diverse - Despite all these values, we don't want to end up a community of self-righteous eco-freaks. We'd like to have as much diversity as possible in background, ethnicity, education, wealth, age and belief. (And, in practice, this might be the hardest value to maintain.)

Help make it happen

We need people to join us, people who understand broadly what we're trying to do and who'd like to help us make this a reality. It's generally recognised that the world needs more cooperation, rather than less - and here's a golden opportunity to put that into practice with a bunch of people committed to living generous and interdependent lives.

If you'd like to find out more or meet the faces behind the dream, please get in touch. Send an email to or call Hannah on 07899 818343.

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A proposed inner city cohousing development in the Chapeltown area of Leeds.

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Community-led housing: a key role for local authorities

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Community-led housing: a key role for local authorities

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CLH in an area with high numbers of second homes, high house prices, low wages, limited housing stock

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Keswick Community Housing Trust - Affordable Local Housing in Keswick. KCHT are a group of volunteers who are passionate about making affordable homes available to the local people of Keswick.

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Ymddiriedolaeth Tir Cymunedol Bro's Eifl

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Ymddiriedolaeth Tir Cymunedol Bro's Eifl

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A Community Land Trust (CLT) to meet the housing needs of local people is being established in the community and villages which form the gateway into the tourist hot spot of Pen Llŷn.

Bro'r Eifl CLT includes the villages of Llanaelhaearn; Trefor; Llithfaen and Pistyll, communities where Welsh is the language of everyday life. But locals are now being forced to move elsewhere for cheaper housing, leaving the language in decline and key workers thin on the ground.

Cian Ireland, Chair of Bro'r Eifl Community Land Trust (CLT) said the electoral register shows that theses four villages have a combined population of 1,000 people.

He told Nation.Cymru. "The idea around the CLT model is that the communities come together to own land that can then be used for the benefit of the community.

This can be all manner of different things. In England, for example, CLTs have bought bakeries or local businesses and land to try and keep the communities going as well as addressing housing issues."

The ultimate goal, said Mr Ireland, is either to buy a parcel of land within Bro'r Eifl to build houses or buy existing buildings which can be turned into homes. The finished properties would then be let to locals on a secure long-term tenancy for an affordable rent.

"We're in the process of founding the organisation at the moment and next month we will assess the housing needs of the area and from there we'll look at what land is available."
Struggle
Bro'r Eifl CLT is in receipt of a small grant to set up the Community Land Trust and to conduct a survey of the local housing needs, explained Mr Ireland.

"There are many different issues and they all feed into each other that makes it difficult for people to get housing. A lot of the work around here is insecure and seasonal so people can get the hours during the summer but come winter it gets more difficult.

"These income issues, as we know in rural Wales, has led to a massive housing crisis and inflated prices.

"It's a pre-emptive move as well before things really get out of hand. You can see what's happening in the next village along which is Nefyn and how bad it's getting there."

Prices were already out of reach of most locals before the Covid pandemic, but since then, prices have increased and are now even higher than usual, and on top of that there are issues around the actual standard of housing as well.

Many of the houses in the area were built around the quarry and they're quite small and haven't been (modernised).

"We need appropriate housing and families need bigger houses if they're to stay in the area. Another example I know of is local people who are disabled and haven't been able to get access to a bungalow or an accessible flat for a disabled person. It's a broad issue - it's not just about young people struggling to get housing, a broad demographic of people need housing."
Community enterprise
The village of Llanaelhaearn has a proud history of collective working.

Antur Aelhaearn was established here in 1974 - the first community enterprise in the UK. Mr Ireland said the Community Land Trust is, "a separate organisation but there are people who are involved with Antur helping out on this."

Antur Aelhaearn was established on the back of a threat by the then Caernarfon County Council to close the village school. The local quarry had closed and pupil numbers had fallen but people power saved the school from closure.

In 2020 Gwynedd Council again earmarked the school for closure and this time around no objections were received during the statutory consultation period.

Cian Ireland himself attended Ysgol Llanaelhaearn: "One of the things which contributed towards the decline of the school was that we had a lot of young families but they moved away when they got too big for the (small quarry) houses they were living in.

"When I started school there were 50 pupils and when I left there were only 10. Because there were rumours that the school was to close people started to take their kids out and then it became a spiral.

"It's very sad really but it's also more of a reason to try and keep the community together now we've lost one community asset."

The next step will be to raise capital and perhaps look into going into partnership with a local housing association, he said: "We already have some ideas but obviously we're at an early stage."

Bro'r Eifl CLT will hold community events to identify local housing needs from 13 June for ten days. Mr Ireland asks that people check their social media pages for updates.

"The more local people that get involved the stronger this will be. It's about us as a collective community, democratically managing and owning land so we can put it in use for the good of the community, not for profit or other motives."

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Community Land Trust aims to address Pen Llŷn housing crisis

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Siân Williams A Community Land Trust (CLT) to meet the housing needs of local people is being established in the community and villages which form the gateway into the tourist hot spot of Pen Llŷn. Bro'r Eifl CLT includes the villages of Llanaelhaearn; Trefor; Llithfaen and Pistyll, communities where Welsh is the language of everyday [...]

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What works: successful community-led housing

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What works: successful community-led housing

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n the back corner of a council estate in south London once occupied by dingy rows of lock-up garages next to a playground, there now stands a gleaming white brick block of flats. Big balconies jut out from its facade in a staggered grid, while a broad staircase loops up the back, where generous curved landings provide spots to stop and take in the view over the treetops to the skyline beyond.

At first glance, it's a familiar sight. These must be the luxury apartments, built by a cash-strapped council in the name of "regeneration", to help pay for improvements elsewhere on the estate. But the truth couldn't be more different. These new homes were built by the local community, for the local community, and are sold at a price that will remain affordable to people on average local wages - for ever.

"We can't quite believe that we've finally got here," says Janet Emmanuel, assistant headteacher at the nearby Sydenham School, who started campaigning for community-led housing here 10 years ago. She is standing in one of the completed flats, which are priced at about 65% of the market value of homes in the neighbourhood, with one-beds for £215,000, and two-beds for £272,500. "For years, we had seen families priced out of the area," she adds, "with teachers commuting from as far as Southend, and young people who didn't qualify for social housing but couldn't afford shared ownership. The community was being broken apart."

Citizens House marks a watershed. After years of campaigning, plotting and planning, it is London's first completed community land trust (CLT) created directly by local residents. Originating in the United States in the 1960s, the CLT is a radical affordable housing model that takes homes out of the property market and ties their value to the median local income in perpetuity. It is the opposite of seeing homes as investment units - as most of England does - instead conceiving the long-term stewardship of land, and the housing on it, as an asset for the community. And unlike council flats, which are still subject to the right to buy, meaning all that public investment can eventually trickle into the hands of private landlords, CLT homes will remain affordable always.

None of this makes them easy to achieve. London CLT, a non-profit organisation, has been campaigning to realise a community land trust in the capital since 2007, when the Olympic park was first identified as the site for a trial project. Like many of the 2012 Olympic "legacy" promises, it remains unfulfilled more than a decade since the games. The group was asked to prove the concept first, which they did nearby in 2016 as part of a private development, but they're still waiting to see if a site on the hallowed legacy-scape will ever materialise.

At first, it looked like this Sydenham project might go the same way. When Emmanuel and her neighbours first approached Lewisham council with the idea for community housing, they were told there was no land. So they decided to find it themselves.

The residents said: 'We've got loads of crappy bits of grass already, we'd like a big hard space where we can have a barbecue'

"It started one Sunday with a group of 10 of us," she says, "roaming around, peeking over people's fences, trying to map all the bits of leftover land in the area." They went back to the council with their map, and began a tireless campaign, attending meetings and lobbying every official possible. "We basically made ourselves a nuisance," she says. "We had to make them understand we weren't going to go away, and that we wouldn't take no for an answer."

Their energy paid off. Backed by Lewisham Citizens, a branch of the national organising charity Citizens UK, and London CLT, the group succeeded in securing this unloved sliver of land in the corner of the Brasted Close estate. It's a classic "infill" site, of the kind that few developers would touch and most councils would despair of. It is a good deal smaller than what they had requested, bound on all sides by other homes, overlooking a school, with poor access and a gas main running beneath, reducing the amount of area you can build on.

"It was like game of Tetris," says Mellis Haward of Archio, the young architects that were selected to design the project by the community, after a series of public presentations. "We set up an office in one of the garages and ran a three-day workshop - not presenting designs, but really trying to understand what people wanted here." It was not the usual tick-box "consultation", but a true co-design process that evolved over the months and years (which the architects have recorded in a new book on collaborative community design).

"A lot of our assumptions were proven wrong," she admits. The architects, for example, had imagined that most people would want the space in front of the flats to be a nice grassy area. "But the residents said: 'We've got loads of crappy bits of grass already, and we'd actually like a big hard space where we can pull up a chair, have a barbecue, maybe use scooters and stuff.'"

Accordingly, a herringbone carpet of pale pavers now extends in front of the building, creating a broad welcome mat, dotted with boulders to stop cars from crashing into newly planted trees (and providing fun obstacles for kids to clamber on). The game of Tetris has been elegantly composed, staggering the 11 flats into three volumes so they almost read as a trio of townhouses, while pockets cut into the plan allow light into the homes from all sides. The external staircase leads to broad galleries - nearly twice the width required - creating additional sociable space outside people's front doors, while windows bring light into the hallways, avoiding the dingy interior corridors common to most modern flats. These are subtle moves, but they make all the difference, creating a real sense of light and openness.

"It's so different to our previous basement flat," says Kes Gill-Martin, who works in theatre, and moved into Citizens House with his partner in January. "It was a struggle to get up in the mornings, but now I'm jumping out of bed with these lovely big windows. Being here feels amazing after 15 years stuck in the private rental trap."

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His neighbour, Alex Ingram, a political researcher and bike charity worker, is equally enamoured. "I'd rented in London for the last 18 years," he says, "and it was always a compromise of quality and affordability. I had been looking at shared ownership, but I couldn't afford it with my single income alone. What really appeals to me about the community land trust model is that it's not just a one-off - it's a long-term affordability that carries on, and I can hand this on to someone else who needs it."

To be eligible for one of these sought-after homes, potential residents had to meet five criteria, including having a strong five-year connection to the borough, serious housing need, involvement in their community, and sufficient income and savings to get a mortgage. Over 400 people expressed interest, and 100 completed the application, who were then interviewed by the CLT steering group, monitored by an independent panel from other housing associations.

"It was very important that anyone applying believed in the ethos of what we're trying to do," says Emmanuel. "We didn't want people moving in and then just being kind of closed off." Oliver Bulleid, director of London CLT, says that two residents of the Lewisham project have since joined the organisation's board. "There's a nice circularity," he says. "You get a home, you get settled and stable, and then you contribute to the organisation, campaigning for further projects like this elsewhere."

New housing is always contentious. But when it's led by locals, it can help to soften any kneejerk nimbyism. As Pete Brierley, assistant director of Citizens UK, puts it: "There's a real difference between Janet the teacher knocking on your door, and a developer or council official coming round. The local credibility gives you an opportunity to build relationships and it reduces suspicion. People are naturally worried about losing something they have, rather than gaining something better."

There are now 350 CLT groups across the country, but it's slow going. When I wrote about the movement in 2017, there were 225 groups, with 700 homes built and a further 3,000 in the pipeline, to be completed by 2020. Yet the total number built now stands at 2,000. A recent report launched in parliament by housing secretary Michael Gove suggested that 280,000 community-led homes could be delivered nationally - if the government bothered to help.

"The biggest issue is access to land and funding," says Bulleid. "This government is very good at talking about community initiatives, but they are not going to renew the Community Housing Fund, which is what made this project possible." The £2.2m cost of Citizens House was met by £1.1m from the fund, as well as the Big Issue Invest fund, and London CLT community shareholders, but the end of the national pot of money now leaves countless similar projects hanging in the balance.

Gove would do well to pay a visit to Lewisham, where a self-build CLT is also under construction nearby, to see how his funds could be better spent on community housing, rather than propping up the development industry.

"It is genuinely life-changing," says Ingram, looking out of big sliding glass doors on to his new garden. "My only frustration is that there aren't more places like this."

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'We made a nuisance of ourselves': how Citizens House created real affordable housing - for ever!

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After years of campaigning, 11 homes have been built as London's first community land trust - protected in value from the volatile property market. We meet the people who made it happen

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Nolton & Roch Community Land Trust (CLT) is a not-for-profit organisation run by skilled volunteers, passionate about creating opportunities for community-led housing and amenities to preserve the quality of our community and local environment.

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Community ownership of land and assets: enabling the delivery of community-led housing in Wales (full report)

Full report (29-pages) featuring detailed statistics and analysis.

Download

Community ownership of land and assets: enabling the delivery of community-led housing in Wales (executive summary)

Summary report (9-pages) featuring key findings.

Download

What is Community-led Housing?

Community-led housing can come in a variety of forms, but fundamentally it refers to the practice of communities taking a leading role in providing their own housing solutions - whether that is through building a new property or taking over existing properties and converting them into affordable housing that meets communities needs now and for future generations. There is no one-size-fits-all approach and community-led housing can be adapted to best suit a community. The aim is to give people more control of where they live to achieve a shared goal.

If you are interested in learning more about co-operative and community-led housing, please visit

Communities Creating Homes

Co-op housing in lockdown

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Community ownership of local assets - Cwmpas

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Enabling the delivery of community-led housing in Wales

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The electoral ward of Solva and Brawdy has been identified as an area requiring additional residential housing due to the high number of second homes and holiday lets within the community leading to a limited amount of affordable rented accommodation and long-term housing opportunities.

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Dream Home Swansea | Facebook | Linktree

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Supporting young adults with additional needs to live independently & thrive!

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‘I spent my days smoking after being evicted - this has given me purpose’

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“Fighting homelessness has given me my life back”

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The purpose of Bronllys Well Being Park is to create and deliver a ground-breaking community asset which is inspired and owned by local people. It will complement and enhance Bronllys Community Hospital itself through the sustainable development of housing, transport, work and leisure opportunities, as well as a range of well being facilities for the entire community.

Based on Garden City principles, Bronllys Well Being Park Community Land Trust has been established to enable the development of an inspirational park for our Mid-Wales communities, with Bronllys Hospital at its heart.

Owned by the local community, it will provide sustainable and genuinely affordable housing and transport, work and leisure opportunities; health and well-being amenities in support of the existing Bronllys NHS hospital.

We intend to make it possible for people to live close to their place of work so that local job vacancies can be fulfilled, the community can function effectively, and local young people be given an opportunity to remain in the area should they wish to do so.

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Bronllys Wellbeing Park I Communities working together

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To create and deliver a ground-breaking community asset which is inspired and owned by local people. It will complement and enhance Bronllys Hospital itself through the sustainable development of housing, transport, work and leisure opportunities, as well as a range of well being facilities for the entire community.

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