Community Land Trust

Eastington Community Land Trust (CLT)

Building Affordable Homes for Rent, for Eastington People

What is a CLT?

We are a voluntary group, aiming to build Affordable Houses for rent in Eastington.

Specifically, houses we build will be available firstly to Eastington people, in perpetuity. This includes:

Current residents of the parish :

- Older folks wanting to down-size, near home

- Younger folks living with parents, perhaps with a child

People with family connections living elsewhere (perhaps wishing to return)

People working in the parish wanting to live nearer their work.

Only when a vacant house is not required by any of these will it be offered outside the Parish.

How is a CLT run?

Our CLT will be registered as a Community Benefit Society (non-charitable), comprising a Board of about 9 trustees and a wide membership. We already have 40 members and would like to at least double that (see Public Meeting below)

Members are anyone who lives, works or has family connections in the Parish, who pay £1.00 for lifetime membership.

The Board is elected by all members on an annual basis to run the CLT for the social, economic, and welfare benefit of the Parish.

Why now?

Lots of reasons – one might say, the sooner the better.

We have measured the need for Affordable Rented housing (after the Parish Plan in 2013) and realised there is an unfulfilled need for 24 houses, mainly smaller units. Commercial sites, like the West of Stonehouse development, will not build houses specifically for Eastington people.

Government policy is changing on Affordable Housing, to favour starter homes for sale. That is not what Eastington needs, so we have to act quickly to build our own houses.

There is support for acting now in the Stroud Local Plan and the Eastington Neighbourhood Plan.

What you can do – Public Meetings in July

Come along and learn more about the CLT and what benefits it can bring to you, your family and the community overall.

Hopefully you will be persuaded to become a CLT member (for £1.00) and go on to vote for the Board membership. If you think you would like to be a Board Member, you can indicate that too.

More details of the Public Meetings and about the CLT will be delivered on leaflets nearer the time.

Likely dates are Monday evening, 11th July

And Saturday morning, 16th July,

pop them in your diary.

Muriel Bullock, Acting Chair murielhbullock@gmail.com

Tom Low, Acting Secretary tom@hazelcottage.eu