Georgeham Parish Community Land Trust (GPCLT)

 

 

Calling local landowners! Can you help us provide genuinely affordable homes for local people? 

 

Georgeham Parish CLT is now being formed to provide genuine affordable homes for people with a connection to the parish of Georgeham. We all know how urgently these are needed and it was no surprise when, in 2019 a local survey identified 18 local households looking for homes for rent or shared ownership. By 'local connection' we mean people with a connection by living here now (perhaps grown up but living with parents), work here now (but travel from away), or have lived here in the past (but have been forced to move away to find somewhere to live). 

 

If GPCLT is to provide these homes we will need to build on one or more sites. Affordable homes for local people can be built on land that would otherwise unavailable to private developers; usually agricultural land adjacent to the existing settlement. This is allowed under Local Plan Policy ST19: Affordable Housing on Exception Sites. 

 

We are therefore appealing to local landowners to let us know if they would like to talk to us. We are looking for sites that are reasonably level (or at least not too steep!), accessible from an adopted road, 1/2 acre or more in size, not prone to flooding and generally developable. Potential sites should be adjacent to the main settlements of Georgeham or Croyde. The value of these sites is more than agricultural value but nowhere near commercial residential value. Typically, the value is up to £7,000/plot. 

 

Any land we develop will  be owned freehold by GPCLT and permanently held for the benefit of the community. No-one involved in the CLT will profit financially from the project; we are all volunteers. We will work with a suitable housing association on our terms to fund and build the homes using a model that has proved very successful elsewhere in Devon. The latest such project to complete was by developed by Appledore CLT and their partner, Aster Housing. 

 

Please help us help local people to live here! For an informal discussion, contact Tina Luxton (recently appointed as designate chair of GPCLT) on 07831145898 or by email tinaluxton7@gmail.com by 28th October 2019.