Community Led Homes for Eastbourne
A 3 year old community-led housing group is getting ready to develop land and build its first five affordable homes for people in housing need.
There are more than 500 similar groups across the UK, which are on track to deliver thousands of new homes, and help alleviate the housing crisis.
More than just housing, this movement is all about communities making supportive, affordable, secure homes, together.
Eastbourne Community Land Trust (ECLT) is a registered Community Benefit Society, and currently, the Society’s 70 members are looking for new people to get involved. Co-founder, Sandy Medway says:
“We are local volunteers with a passion to see community led homes make a significant difference in Eastbourne. Our affordable home ownership scheme will enable people on low incomes to own their own home and feel secure.”
Anyone can become a CLT Member for just £1 and get involved or have a say in how the Society is run.
The first housing project is in Langney where we are acquiring a plot of land to build five new houses (two 3Bed and three 2Bed). These are for key worker families in housing need and if you know of anyone who may be interested then please encourage them to get in touch via our website at
www.eastbourneclt.co.uk or via our
Facebook page
The Society raises funds through donations, and by raising finance through Community Shares, Grants, Mortgages, and Investment Loans. The CLT model is a proven, independent and sustainable way to create affordable housing, through community-led development. CLTs are set up and run by local volunteers, and because homes are subject to an asset lock, community members become long-term stewards of the land it owns and the homes it builds. This ensures genuine affordability based on what people actually earn in their area, not just for now but for every future occupier.
The Community Land Trust movement is a young and rapidly growing movement in England, as more and more communities take the future of their neighbourhood into their own hands. Half the CLTs in the UK were formed in the last few years, and with every site development, CLT member organisations are encouraged to share good practice. The Society’s trustees in Eastbourne have benefitted during lockdown from networking with other CLTs to learn about the progress being made by other community led housing groups.
Chair of Trustees for Eastbourne CLT, Sandy Medway, says, “As a new community-led housing group, we have learned much during lockdown from other groups, who are ahead of us with their developments. We are astounded by what they have achieved. As volunteers we’ve been particularly encouraged and helped by leaders of schemes in Sussex. The government is channeling funds into community-led housing projects and Eastbourne CLT is now ready to benefit from this resource.
The guest speaker at the Society’s AGM on 21 October is Tom Warder, leader of the Sussex Community-led Housing Hub, who will give an overview of the unfolding landscape of emerging Sussex based CLTs. Members of Eastbourne CLT will also be sharing their plans for the Langney site, and their passion for making a positive difference. Check out our Facebook page for details and to get an invite.
Councillor Alan Shuttleworth, and others from Eastbourne Borough Council, have been hugely supportive of the group, commending their ability to mobilise sufficient interest to form a committed membership, willing to serve and set up the Society.
To read more, visit the Society’s website at eastbourneclt.co.uk. To join the ECLT mailing list for updates, or to enquire about membership, contact the Society’s Chief Officer, Mrs Sandy Medway, on 07710 309893, or by email at eastbourneclt.office@gmail.com
