ECLT is just a group of ordinary Eastington Parishioners, who believe that meeting the housing needs of our own residents is good for the community as a whole. We also value our rural landscape, and know that we can meet this need with the absolute minimum loss of our green spaces, and without the blight of the additional ‘enabling’ development that market developers would demand.
The currently defined ‘housing need’ is for 23 Affordable Rent homes, so this is just what we propose to build in the current project. These homes will be available for Affordable Rent to Eastington-linked people in perpetuity. We can do this with some help from Government grants and partnership with a Housing Association.
ECLT will eventually have ‘assets’ ( the building land ) and an income from ground rent. This needs to be fully accountable, and our actions are regulated by the Financial Control Authority.
There are certain things that a CLT must be and do:
- A CLT must be set up to benefit a defined community;
- A CLT must be not-for-private-profit. This means that they can, and should, make a surplus as a community business, but that surplus must be used to benefit the community;
- Local people living or working in the community, must have the opportunity to join the CLT as members;
- Those members control the CLT – usually via a board of trustees being elected from the membership.
Eastington Community Land Trust (ECLT) Limited is a Registered Society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. Registration date: 3rd November 2016 Registration number:7425
Our current Board of Trustees was elected at a Special General Meeting on 1st Dec 2016 as follows:
- Chair: Tom Morrison
- Vice Chair: Muriel Bullock
- Secretary: Tom Low
- Treasurer: Lynne Farnden
- Members:
- Alison Loverage
- Sharon Wells
- Paul Mannings
- Alan Brasier
- Martin Elliot
- Two vacancies to be filled by the future tenants
- Co-opted member: Stroud District Councillor John Jones
We currently have over 100 members amongst the community. If you live, work or have family in Eastington, you can join us. Life membership costs a token £1, and gives you full voting rights to elect board members – or stand to be a board member – and participate in group meetings. You are very welcome to join us – please use our contacts page.
All members are welcome to attend ‘Board Meetings’ mainly as observers but there will be an opportunity to speak or ask questions.
There is a national CLT movement, with some 170 CLTs across the country, mainly in the South West. ECLT is a full member of the National CLT and has already secured a grant of £4,000 to fund our early stages. Their website has lots more information
click here to visit the National CLT website
You can also see the full ECLT Rule Book on our ‘Documents‘ pages.
Our History in brief:
- 2012 to 2013 – Parish Survey (more than just housing)
- June 2013 – Parish Plan published – need for affordable homes identified – Community Land Trust proposed.
- October 2013 – Housing Needs Survey started
- October 2013 – ECLT founded with 23 members
- February 2014 – Housing Needs Survey report from Glos. Rural Community Council
- March 2015 – Joined National CLT Network and Selected Aster Group as preferred Housing Association partner
- August 2016 – Agreed Heads of Terms for a site in Claypits
- October 2016 – Grant of £2,000 from Parish Solar Fund
- November 2016 – Became registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act
- November 2016 – Grant of £9,750 from LOCALITY for Feasibility Study
- December 2016 – First Board elected
- March 2017 – Pre-Application advice from Stroud DC
- April 2017 – Feasibility Report completed and presented to Parish Council (read the full Feasibility Report – .pdf format)
- April 2017 – Two public consultation Drop-In events : membership tops 100
- May 2017 – Grant of £4,000 from Parish Solar Fund
- June 2017– Grant of £40,000 from LOCALITY for Pre-Planning Application Phase
- September 2017 – Grant facility for £20,000 agreed with Stroud DC
- May to December 2017 – nine consultants’ reports and associated modifications to site layout (see Pre-Planning Application Phase)
- December 2017 – First AGM with display of final layouts.
- August 2017 – ongoing in 2018 – legal agreements for Conditional Contracts and 125-year lease