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Saturday 7 December 2013

Beer Community Land Trust

The latest edition of the View from Sidmouth is highlighting a project where local people are taking charge of building their own homes: 












Pulmans View from Sidmouth - digital edition
AXMINSTER TODAY | NEWS | SEATON: New homes get thumbs up from locals | 2013
View From Online - News from West Dorset, East Devon & South Somerset


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Welcome to Beer Parish Council Website

Beer is a small seaside village built around a natural cove, with a shingle beach nestling below the chalk cliffs. Many miles of the surrounding coast and countryside are an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the village is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, stretching all the way from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset.
This site aims to provide you with information about the work of the Parish Council and Beer generally.  It will direct you to links to other websites for further information.

BEER COMMUNITY LAND TRUST LTD 
Beer CLT is now formally established as an Industrial Provident Society with the aim of developing community assets for the benefit of the community, the highest priority being the development of affordable housing.  
For details of the National CLT rules click on this link Beer CLT LTD Rules
For Beer Housing Survey results click on this link Beer Housing Survey 2013

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN
Beer Parish Council has applied to have the parish designated as a Neighbourhood Area.  This is the first step towards the development of a Neighbourhood Plan which is a planning document which guides and shapes development in the local area and is created by local people.  Full details can be seen via this notice and website link.
To contact the Parish Clerk, telephone 01297 680244 or emailclerk@beer.eastdevon.gov.uk 




Images © East Devon District Council and East Devon AONB Team

Beer Parish Council - Home
BEER COMMUNITY LAND TRUST LIMITED of in

What are Community Land Trusts?

Introductory 'CLTs in a Nutshell' download here
Community Land Trusts are powerful examples of communities taking control and transforming the future of their local community. They are non-profit, community-based organisations run by volunteers that develop housing, workspaces, community facilities or other assets that meet the needs of the community, are owned and controlled by the community and are made available at permanently affordable levels.

Watch a short film on Community Land Trusts produced by the National CLT Network, May 2012.


Diverse sector but common aims

CLTs range in size, can be rural or urban and provide a variety of housing tenures as well as other community facilities, including workspaces, energy generation, community food and farming.

Despite the diversity in the sector, there are five key features of a CLT:
  • Community-controlled and community-ownedA CLT is set up by the community and for the community. The members of the CLT control it and the assets can only be sold or developed in a manner that benefits the local community. If the CLT decides to sell the asset, the cash realised is protected by an asset lock and is re-invested into something else that the trust's members think will benefit the local community.
  • Open democratic structurePeople who live and work in the defined local community, including occupiers of the properties that the CLT owns, must have the opportunity to become members of the CLT. The CLT should actively engage members of the community in its work and ensure that they remain engaged in the development and operation of the CLT.
  • Permanently affordable housing or other assetsThis is a crucial defining feature of a CLT. A CLT will endeavour to keep the homes or assets permanently affordable.
  • Not for profitAll CLTs are not for profit and any profits generated by the CLT cannot be paid by way of dividend or otherwise to its members but must be used to further the community's interests.
  • Long-term stewardshipA CLT does not disappear when a home is sold or let but has a long-term role in stewarding the homes. In some cases they will remain the landlord of the rental homes or will retain an element of unsold equity in the homes. At the least, the CLT will retain the freehold.
CLTs are defined in Statute as a corporate body that satisfies conditions laid out in Section 79 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. The specific conditions are set out in the CLT Legal Toolkit.
The CLT model as a vehicle for community development emerged in the United States and has been adapted to meet the demands of local communities in the UK.
For a history of CLTs click here.
About CLTs
Welcome to the CLT Network

The District Council has been very positive about the project:

58: Request from Beer Community Land Trust (CLT) to obtain development loan finance 

Members considered the report of the Head of Finance in respect of a request 
received from the Beer Community Land Trust for a loan from the Public Works Loan 
Board (PWLB) of up to £l.060m for a 30 month period. A corresponding loan would 
then be made on the same terms by the Council to the Trust secured against the site 
and development. The loan would enable the Trust to purchase land and build 7 
houses to help meet the need for affordable homes in Beer. 

The Head of Finance advised of the latest financial position in respect of the initiative 
– part funding was potentially available from the Homes and Community Agency and 
from a Social Investment bid. This would reduce the level of loan required from this 
Council. He also made corrections to the circulated report in respect of the PWLB 
rates which were 1.4 and not 0.84 as printed. He advised that this did not change the 
recommendation made in the report. 

The Portfolio Holder – Sustainable Homes and Communities said that other villages 
could be encouraged to adopt a similar approach to affordable home provision. 

Other Members supported the efforts of the Community Land Trust and 
acknowledged Councillor Pook’s positive involvement. The initiative was seen as a 
good example of effective localism. A significant advantage was that local people 
were recognising the housing need within their own communities and choosing where 
to locate and how to fund potential development. 

The Head of Housing confirmed that the Council’s Housing Enabling Officer was 
working closely with local parishes. 

The risks involved in the loan were discussed and how these would be mitigated. 
Similar requests from other local initiatives would be determined on a case by case 
basis, on their individual merits and business case. 

RESOLVED 

that Beer Community Land Trust (CLT) request be supported by obtaining a loan from the Public Works Loan Board up to a maximum of £1,060,000 for a period of 30 months to be secured on land and development owned by the CLT with the full loan repayment and interest incurred to be met by the CLT. 

REASON 
The decision reflected a priority of the Council which was to provide affordable housing

www.eastdevon.gov.uk/cabinet_mins_040913.pdf

Beer has submitted its Neighbourhood Plan:
Futures Forum: Neighbourhood Plan @ Newton Poppleford this evening: Monday 11th November 8pm
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