BCLT 2020 Winter Newsletter

BCLT Chair, 

Patsy Hudson

Given the extraordinary year that we have all lived through and the concerning development of the mutated, seemingly more infectious Covid virus, I very much hope that this newsletter finds you safe and well.

All our lives have changed this year and we have had to adapt to doing things differently. I was appointed as Chair of BCLT at the beginning of March. Since then, much of my time, in fact much of my life, has been spent on Zoom! I have met with and got to know all the Board Members. As you will recall, from the questionnaire that we sent out to you, in the autumn, BCLT with your input, has agreed its mission and values and the focus of its work for the next few years. You can read the detailed outputs of this in the AGM 2020 page on our website.

In September, I appointed Steve Dale as the new Chief Executive Officer. If you were at the Annual General Meeting you will have met Steve. BCLT also has a newly appointed Vice Chair, Thomas Rasche, who will introduce himself in the Spring Newsletter. 

Looking forward, I am eager to find out more about the needs and hopes of the members of BCLT. This will be one of my main priorities after Christmas and I look forward to meeting more of you in the new year even if it has to be via Zoom.

Meanwhile, all best wishes for the festive season and let’s hope that the new year is a better one for all of us. 

Steve Dale, CEO

As well as being the end of 2020 (thank goodness!) it’s also 3 months since I joined BCLT. As someone who is new to the community-led housing sector, it’s the perfect time to share some observations. 

Our region is, in many ways, leading the country in terms of community led-housing. We have pioneering companies like Ecomotive who are developing new ways to make building more sustainable, affordable and accessible; high-profile events such as Bristol Housing Festival which drives innovation in the sector; thriving partnerships between housing associations such as United Communities and grassroots community groups like Ambition Lawrence Weston; and supportive local authorities like Bristol City Council who are underpinning all this activity with ground-breaking policies such as the city’s land disposal. 

But none of this happens by accident. It is the result of the blood, sweat and tears of committed, visionary people in the community – people such as yourselves. Although the end results are beautiful, harmonious communities, the process of getting there can be messy and painful! (As we know from BCLT’s own first-hand experience.) 

Community Led Homes West (a.k.a ‘The Hub’) exists to bring order to this chaos. To take the pain out of the process. To help communities to access the skills they need to succeed and share learning so that groups avoid the pitfalls and problems experienced by those who have trodden the path before. The Hub is currently working with over 40 groups who aim to bring almost 1000 homes into being over the coming years. As the organisation that hosts the Hub it is the primary focus of BCLT’s work at present and the result of a collective effort of numerous people over the years. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has got us this far. It is a testament to what we can do when we work together.

For me 2021 is about building on those solid foundations and keeping the momentum going. To work together more closely as a sector, to speak as much as possible with one voice, to forge new collaborations between organisations and to support (but also to push) policymakers, politicians and funders to help realise the potential of our sector to deliver the sustainable homes and resilient communities that we all need to meet our future challenges.