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Power to the people!

If millions of new homes are to flood the UK and create new estates, new research from the Community Land Trust Network proposes the people living in and around them should be included in conversations about how they’ll be looked after.

The research, which was delivered in partnership with Dark Matter Labs and the European Community Land Trust Network, analysed five case studies across the UK where communities were in control of maintaining decent standards in large scale housing developments.man wearing black cap with love your neighbour print during daytime

Tom Chance, CEO of the Community Land Trust Network and leader of the research, said: ‘Millions of households are getting a raw deal from the charges they pay to look after the playgrounds, open spaces and other facilities where they live. This research shows that Community Land Trusts offer a proven, democratic, not-for-profit alternative that could be rolled out by industry and councils today. It would also reduce opposition to building 1.5 million homes.’

Previously, councils were in charge of looking after the features that cone alongside housing developments such as parks and community centres however, current cost-of-living pressures have deterred local authorities from taking on such roles and in 2024 the Competition Markets Authority found around 90% were going into private management companies – establishments that often issue ‘fleecehold’ charges.

‘Fleecehold’ charges are fees that homeowners on new-build estates pay to maintain communal areas. 

When they were elected, the labour government pledged to ‘act to bring the injustice o ‘fleecehold’ private housing estates and unfair maintenance costs to an end’ – this message was reiterated in the Kings Speech in July 2024, though authorities are yet to establish any concrete plans.

‘Good stewardship goes beyond cutting the grass,’ Dan Hill of Dark Matter Labs said. ‘Our research found pioneering examples of responsible care for assets, supporting social connections. This will become vital in enabling communities to adapt to increasingly extreme weather.’

‘We found many in the industry want to find new forms of local stewardship, and the community-led model we have documented offers a credible model for civic collaboration,’ Dan continued.

On the topic of ‘pioneering examples’, experts detailed two instances where communities have been successfully involved with overseeing planning commitments in their research, which can be found in full here. The first is Kennett Garden Village, where, once completed, individuals will take ownership of 60 affordable homes and all of the open spaces included alongside it.

The second is St Clements in London – residents shaped the masterplan for the regeneration project with developers and established the resident management company for the whole site which is comprised of 252 new homes.  

Laura Parker-Tong of the European CLT Network, said: ‘Stewardship is a challenge across Europe, but beyond the UK less privatised models are more common, and there is more mainstream adoption of community-led models. The Community Land Trust movement is already developing these at some scale in France and Belgium.

‘We aim to use this research to further explore its application in other parts of the continent.  This is a timely report that uses trailblazer case-studies to inform the new European Affordable Housing Plan with practical proposals for how policymakers can embed effective governance that delivers equity and resilience into large-scale housing programmes.’

In related news:

Greenwich homes saved from demolition (for now)

Construction sector hinders Ireland’s green progress – report

Emily Whitehouse
Writer and journalist for Newstart Magazine, Social Care Today and Air Quality News.
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