Pembrokeshire Community Land Trust
A project to develop a community land trust for Pembrokeshire has been funded by Arwain Sir Benfro.
Arwain Sir Benfro – the Local Action Group (LAG) for Pembrokeshire, administered by PLANED has provided funding of £160,140 to PLANED to develop a Community Land Trust project. This is funded through the LEADER programme, which is part of the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020, Funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.
Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are a form of community-led housing, set up and run by community groups and local neighbourhood groups to help solve housing problems in their local area. These community led initiatives develop and manage homes as well as other assets.
CLTs act as long-term stewards of housing, ensuring that it remains genuinely affordable, based on what people actually earn in their area, not just for now but for every future occupier.
Cris Tomos, Development Manager for PLANED Said: “Working with communities the Pembrokeshire Community Land Trust pilot project aims to deliver genuine, permanently affordable homes and land owned and run by local people. The Officer will lead teams for housing and land development and supporting partnership development across the sector.
“As a nation we are building less than half the homes we need just to keep up with the new households forming each year. Private rents are soaring in many parts of the country and house prices are continuing to rise. At the same time in other parts of the country there are whole neighbourhoods blighted by empty properties, disinvestment and failed regeneration initiatives. In response, a rising number of communities are deciding to set up Community Land Trusts.”
There are now over 225 Community Land Trusts in England and Wales, half of which formed in the last few years. Community Land Trusts have developed 700 homes and will have developed a further 3000 new affordable homes by 2020. However, with the right funding and support, this could triple.
Community Land Trusts are not the only solution to the housing crisis, but they need to be a much bigger part of the solution.
Arwain Sir Benfro is currently supporting project ideas from local community groups, organisations and businesses. As the Local Action Group for Pembrokeshire, we bring together a mix of local community representatives, business, third sector, local authority partners.”
LEADER is supporting all kinds of activity: mentoring, training, feasibility studies or pilot projects that test an innovative new idea. It can also be used for projects that improve local skills, make better use of a local resource or realise the economic potential of part of the locality leading to a ‘new’ outcome or product.