£60 million in UK budget for community-led housing

On Wednesday 16 March the Government announced a £60 million fund for community-led housing developments including Community Land Trusts in rural and coastal communities.

The money will be raised through a tax on additional residential properties. There is a large market for buying additional properties to rent out to holidaymakers in rural and coastal communities. This can have a negative effect outside of summer months, leaving places under populated and with very low economic activity for much of the year.

This is a clear real-life example of a local challenge. It demonstrates how the cumulative impact of individual behaviours can be profound and long-lasting. The benefit and logic of a collective response to this has been recognised. Working collaboratively to enable communities to make the most of this funding could really help broaden the understanding about what community-led housing can offer.

Jennifer Line, Programme Manager at World Habitat, said: “This is fantastic news and at World Habitat we hope to play a part in making the response as positive as the opportunity! We will support our colleagues to draw together expertise and ideas. We want this funding to enable communities to be masters of their own destiny and develop holistic and imaginative solutions to local challenges.”

At World Habitat our goal is to support and enable the continued growth of community-led housing. We believe community-led housing has the potential to be a genuine, scalable alternative to the standard models of housing provision, and that by working together this is more likely to become a reality.

Through the World Habitat Awards innovative community-led housing solutions from the UK and internationally have been recognised. Including the 2015-16 winners Caño Martín Peña Community Land Trust – Puerto Rico and Self-help Housing in the North of England United Kingdom who instead of waiting for the system to provide, have got together to house themselves.

Potential new entrants to Community-led housing can also find our more in the following UK case studies.

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