By working with a Housing Association, we can quickly build houses to suit the needs of Eastington people.
This is how it works:-
- The CLT find an acceptable plot
- The Housing Association and ECLT agree the housing design.
- ECLT employs the architect (etc) with help from government grants.
- ECLT applies for (and hopefully gets!) Planning Permission
- The Housing Association organises the main funding – from a mixture of their own resources, bank loans and Government grants.
- A three-way agreement results in
- the landowner being paid for the land (by the Housing Association),
- ECLT owning the land in perpetuity
- ECLT leasing the land to the Housing Association (over a 125 year period, for a ground rent).
- The HA build and manage the houses (repairs, allocations etc) and take the rental income.
The land is owned by ECLT in perpetuity.
Our priorities dictate what is built and how many – all are Affordable Rent properties in this project – no market value housing.
There is NO “right to buy” so houses are for Affordable Rent, in perpetuity.
All the legal back-up already exists, both in National Planning Law and in the Stroud District Council Local Plan. ECLT is a full member of National CLT and has already secured grants from them to fund the early stages.
The Government agency “Locality” will provide further grants of up to £40,000 to pay for our legal costs and architects and the other professional fees necessary to obtain the Planning Permission. There is more information on ‘Locality’ and the DCLG (Department for Communities and local Government) on the government agency websites:
Some of the DCLG funding was channelled through district councils in 2016/17 and we are pleased to have a facility from Stroud DC for up to £20,000. This will assist the pre-planning work.
Our own Parish Council also provided £6,000 from the Solar Fund, to act as “match funding” to the Locality grants. Showing local support was an important factor in securing the larger national funds.