Special General Meeting - Wednesday 4th February
As part of our registration process with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) we need to update our rules. To do this we need to inform members and invite them to a meeting to vote on this. The Board discussed and agreed these changes on Jan 14th and now wish to invite you to a meeting on Wednesday 4th February at 7pm sharp at
OCLT Annual General Meeting 2014
When: 7pm - 8.30pm Monday 8th December 2014
Where: First floor of The Turl Street Kitchen, Oxford City Centre
House of the Commons: Creative Solutions to the Housing Crisis
Oxfordshire Community Land Trust was a strong supporter and participant in the House of the Commons conference in Oxford from 9th to 12th October. On Sunday 12th there was a whole showcase of alternative approaches, with a particular emphasis on community-led housing.
Tenants Co-op First Steps
OCLT held its first meeting with prospective tenants in Dean Court Community Centre on 27th September 2014. Sally Daniels who works with Askew Cavannagh architects came up from Bristol specially to describe the buildings and their distinctive features.
Community Led Homes: Looking for tenants
As many of you will know Oxfordshire Community Land Trust (OCLT) has recently received planning permission for six maisonettes for affordable rent: 2 x 2 bedrooms, 2x 1 bedroom and 2 studios in Dean Court. We are now moving forward to complete the design process and appoint contractors.
A Community Land Trust (a CLT) is an organisation set up to own and manage land by and for a local community. Through this organisation, the land is owned by the community in perpetuity and used for the explicit benefit of that community. It might be used for any purpose which benefits the community to which it is linked: housing, workspace, leisure or horticulture. There are various legal structures which can underpin a CLT (read more) but one key aspect of the idea is that the land cannot be sold off for private gain. Through this mechanism (called an asset lock), the CLT aims to ensure permanent and affordable access to the land for whichever purpose the community needs.
One of the biggest needs, even in this time of recession, is to provide land for affordable housing. Increasing numbers of working people find it difficult or impossible to find a secure and affordable place to live. There is also a great shortage of social housing and many working families have no access to them. (read more section to include stats about numbers waiting in Oxon, ratios of average price to av earnings). CLTs offer a way to provide permanently affordable land (it is permanently owned by the community so doesn’t keep going up in value) for housing and other local needs.
A CLT organisation is set up by a local group of people who get together to DO something to ensure there are more affordable assets for that community. These could be for housing, workspace, food production or leisure. There are various legal mechanisms which can underpin this. OCLT is an Industrial and Provident Society for the Benefit of the Community.
We were registered as an Industrial and Provident society in December 2004 and have been meeting regularly ever since (read more about who we are). In June 2008 we began the process of acquiring a small piece of land in Cumnor Parish (read more under Projects). We aim to build half a dozen affordable homes on this land once Thames Water has replaced the current sewage system. We hope to be able to begin on site by 2012.