New local co-housing group
OXFORD Cohousing is a new group looking for land to create a 20-30 cohousing community in or close to the city. Their vision includes zero carbon buildings, allotments, a common house and a mixed community, both in terms of ages and tenures. They are particularly interested in developing some permanently affordable homes within the project. They have been meeting since July and can be contacted here.
Fundrasing drive for the Eynsham Road project
We are beginning our fundraising drive for the Eynsham Road affordable housing project.
We aim to raise at least £27.5K by the end of 2011 to cover the final installement of the purchse of the site. However any further amount raisded will go towards reducing the existing debt (from loans from both banks and friends). This will contribute to making the whole scheme more affordable.
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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.