About Spaxton CLT
A Community Land Trust (CLT) is a not-for-private-profit, community-based body owned and run by the local community to develop the local area for the benefit of the whole community.
The definition of a CLT is “a body established for the express purpose of furthering the social, economic and environmental interest of the community by acquiring and managing land and other assets to provide benefit to the community and to ensure that the assets are not sold or developed except in a manner which the trust’s members consider to benefit the community”
There are nearly 400 CLTs across the country and it is the dominant community led housing approach in the South West by far. The provision of affordable housing tends to be the primary driver but other projects include shops, pubs, sustainable energy, food growing and such like. Nationally, over 1,000* affordable homes for rent have been built so far and there in excess of 4,000* in the build pipeline (*Source Community Led Homes).
Because it is rooted in the community, a CLT can identify and respond to opportunities and challenges as they arise and by taking the initiative, it allows the community to determine developments, rather than having them imposed. Both local and central government tend to look favourably on CLTs and they can attract significant resources from national and local funding agencies and government departments.
You can find more information HERE and examples of rural developments HERE.
Middlemarch supported projects, Map courtesy of Middlemarch – for latest map and site names visit www.middlemarchclh.co.uk/projects
Spaxton Community Land Trust (SCLT) is registered as a Community Benefit Society number 8226 and is also registered with the Financial Conduct Authority. It has an elected board of 12 volunteers and well over 100 members.
Any individual over the age of 16 living, working or owning land in the Parish of Spaxton can become a member. Click HERE for more details. A member can also stand for election to the board and more information can be found HERE.
The objectives of the CLT are summarised below and form part of the society rules which can be found HERE.
- Maintain or improve the physical, social and economic infrastructure within the Parish of Spaxton;
- Advance education (particularly concerning asset-based community development and enterprises with a community or environmental focus);
- Facilitate community ownership of renewable energy production;
- Promote and support the arts locally;
- Function in accordance with the legal definition of a Community Land Trust;
- Promote and protect local heritage;
- Hold land in trust for its community;
- Facilitate Affordable Housing, as defined at rule 38.1, for local people.
A copy of the Spaxton Parish Boundary Map can be found HERE
The first project is to build the affordable homes needed for people with a strong local connection to the village. This is our opportunity to help avoid local people having to leave the village to secure the accommodation they need. It is also an opportunity to take control of the future development within our parish boundaries rather than seeing the need for affordable housing being used by developers as a route to try to secure planning permission for a much larger housing schemes. Find more information HERE.
Board Members
Mike Hodson
Vernon Hughes
Dave Hartley
Barbara Down
Tony Donnelly
Alex Burdett
Judith Nealon
Paul Richold
Josh Schwieso
Chris Morton-Thomas
Project Team
Vernon Hughes
Barbara Down
Paul Richold
Communications Team
Barbara Down
Vicky Hemming
Siân Sedgwick-Wilde
Legal/GDPR Team
Katrina Hinkley
Siân Sedgwick-Wilde
Elections
One third of the board members must retire or seek re-election each year so there is an opportunity for members to seek election to the board annually. A member has one opportunity to vote irrespective of the number of shares they hold in the CLT.
There are vacancies on the board of directors. If you wish to become a member of the board an application form can be accessed by clicking here. Hard copies are also available in Spaxton Community Stores.
All applications must be received by the secretary on or before 30th September.
Please contact: The Secretary, c/o Spaxton Community Land Trust, Spaxton Community Store, High Street, TA5 1BS or by email to spaxtonclt@gmail.com
At the 2021 AGM, Tony Donnelly and Alex Burdett were co-opted to the Board and are now seeking election as required by the SCLT Rules.”
The Rules and Code of Conduct of Spaxton CLT can be found in the Resources Section here.
