2021 Spring Newsletter

BCLT 2021 Spring Newsletter

Update from the Executive

BCLT Chair, 

Patsy Hudson


I have been the Chair of BCLT for just over a year and what an extraordinary year it has been for all of us! I very much hope that you have all kept well and Covid free and that you are beginning to enjoy the gradual return to a less restrictive lifestyle.


Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to Matt Ashley, who had been a very active Board Member of BCLT during his time on the board. Matt was a lawyer, specialising in residential development and property management,  and provided very useful legal advice to the staff team and the Board on a number of occasions. Very sadly Matt died from cancer just before Christmas. We will miss him greatly and our condolences and sympathy were sent to Matt’s family. (Please see our full tribute to Matt below.)


Poku Osei has also resigned from the Board due to increasing pressure of work and we are very grateful for the time and commitment that he gave to BCLT. 


Given the above, BCLT is now looking for new Board Members and the obvious place to start the search is from our 700 or so Members. We hope you will consider joining the team (details below).  


I wrote in the last Member’s newsletter that getting to know and working more closely with the Members was a top priority for me. Therefore I want to draw your attention to the forthcoming BCLT EGM (see details below).  I hope to see many of you there.   Keep safe and take care. 

Steve Dale, CEO


My first 6 months in post has been a period of consolidation for BCLT.  We have spent time reflecting on past challenges (see Shaldon Road – Lessons Learnt below) and further developing our governance and finance.  I’ll be honest, it’s not the most thrilling part of the role, but critical for getting us to the exciting part – our next project. (We look forward to telling you all about that in a future newsletter.)

  

Talking of the future, I was lucky enough to get on site at Shaldon Road for the first time (see below) and see the progress being made on the homes.  The cladding was just being added and gave the first hint of what a colourful place it’s going to be when complete later this year.  


But more important than that has been the chance to meet, albeit virtually, some of the people who are at the centre of our work - the residents.  At Shaldon Road, BCLT and Community led Homes West are supporting the group to develop a Common House (see photos below); the building that will be a focal point for the community.  It’s been brilliant to see the group using their skills, knowledge and passion to take this project forward.  


Patsy and I were also able to virtually meet the residents of Fishponds Road (where it all began), to see how the community looks 5 years on and to work together to ensure that it remains a special place to live in the future.    

28 April, 19.30, on Zoom

 

It’s 5 months until our next AGM and, with so much going on, we wanted to have the chance to gather our members so that we could give an update, and get some important business done.

We saw this as a great opportunity to use some of this time for our members to socialise, so have also organised a quiz. We really hope that you can join us for this virtual event help us to shape the future of BCLT and to meet some other members.

 

  1. Quiz!
  2. Shaldon Road – history, update & virtual tour
  3. Shaldon Road Lessons Learnt
  4. Membership development
  5. SGM: Appointment of auditors

 

You can sign up for at ticket to this event using this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bristol-clt-members-quiz-night-and-sgm-tickets-149890375147

Volunteering opportunities within the BCLT:

BCLT Board Members - Call for New Trustees


We have two vacancies on the board of BCLT and, before we open up the field more widely, we wanted to invite members to express an interest. Our Board is ultimately responsible for ensuring that BCLT meets its objectives and complies with all relevant regulations. Although day-to-day responsibility for running the organisation is delegated to our small staff team, the board make the key decisions relating to governance, finance and future development.   

 

No board experience is necessary, but a passion for and commitment to community-led housing is essential. We are particularly interested in people with skills and experience in:

·      Social enterprise / business development

·      PR and communications

·      Housing and Tenancy Management

·      Finance

 

Board meetings are quarterly (and currently virtual), with regular meetings of sub-committees in between.  Board members will be expected to join one or more sub-committees or working groups dealing with finance, project development, risk or membership development.  As we are such a small organisation, we also need our Trustees to pitch in occasionally and help with projects or events. 

 

Membership Development

 

BCLT is a membership organisation and we want to ensure that members are taking an active role in our future. We’re looking for people to join a Membership Development Group to: 

 

  • Help us shape our offer to members and ensure that they are getting the support and services they are looking for
  • Help us ensure that members are taking an active part in supporting BCLT and are involved in planning for the future

 

This is a short-term opportunity, designed to kickstart a new era for our membership engagement. No experience is necessary, just a commitment to community-led housing and an open mind.   

 

PR & comms volunteers – BCLT and Community Led Homes West

 

We are a very busy, part-time team who divide our time between BCLT and Community Led Homes West. We find that marketing and communications often falls off the to-do list which, given that there are so many amazing stories to tell about our sector, is a wasted opportunity. We are looking for one or more people to help us to plan and create content for social media and the web (including this newsletter). The role/s may include some, or all, of the following: 

·      Researching stories for the newsletter, web and social media

·      Posting on social media

·      Writing or coordinating blogs

·      Taking photos or making videos

 

This is a flexible role which can be adapted to suit any willing volunteers, but experience of some of the above tasks will be essential. 

Shaldon Road Project Update

Over the next few weeks, 50 BCLT members and their families - will start the process of self-finishing their new Passivhaus standard homes in Shaldon Road, Lockleaze. This involves them undertaking some of the final finishes of the homes. It’s a big project, but in return the residents earn ‘sweat equity’ which either increases the share of the property they own or reduces the rent they pay. In the process they will learn new skills and get to know their new neighbours, before moving into their homes! They will be trained and supported by the expert team at Ecomotive who also supported the self-finishers at Fishponds Road. We hope to see everyone moved in by the end of the year.  

 

In the meantime, BCLT and Community Led Homes West are supporting the residents to develop a ‘common house’ on site. This building, which I’m very excited to announce will has been named The Nest, as voted by the residents, will provide a focal point for the community and offer space for meeting, eating and learning. A community consultation on this is now live. Find out more here: https://thenestlockleaze.com/community-consultation/. 

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    Members of the BCLT team visit the site of the common house at Shaldon Road (to the left of the picture) 

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    Early sketch of what the Common House may look like.  Credit: Askew Cavanna

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    Shaldon Road plan showing the site of the Common House. Credit: Askew Cavanna

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    The homes take shape

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Shaldon Road - Lessons Learnt

We’re excited to see Shaldon Road brought to fruition. But, as you may know, it wasn’t plain sailing for BCLT and we were unable to complete the project alone for a variety of financial and legal reasons. Luckily, United Communities were able to step in and see the project through. We recently undertook an exercise to explore what went wrong and take steps to ensure that we, and other organisations, don’t experience the same challenges.  We will be publishing our findings shortly, but you can hear a preview of our conclusions by attending our SGM (see above)

A Fond Farewell to:

Matt Ashley

2021 started with some very sad news, which shook all of the BCLT team. One of our trustees, Matt, died in December only 6 weeks after receiving a diagnosis of terminal Bowel Cancer. He was a highly valued and well-liked member of our board. His absence leaves a big hole; not just because of his expertise, but his kindness and generosity in sharing that to help make tangible improvements to the lives of our residents, and in providing advice which will be invaluable in ensuring the future sustainability of the organisation. 

It was an honour to be invited to attend his funeral which celebrated his life as a much loved and devoted husband and a father to his young children, a loyal friend, a dedicated colleague, a map enthusiast, a quiz team legend, and much more in between. Our time with him was short, but it was a privilege to be a part of his life. 


If you knew Matt, have been affected by Bowel Cancer, or simply want to help in the fight against this awful disease, please consider donating to Bowel Cancer UK via his JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/matt-ashley 

Tony Croft

We were also very saddened to hear that our old friend Tony Crofts died recently. Inspired by his deep Quaker beliefs, Tony was a passionate advocate for community led housing for most of his life and was one of the founders of the Stonesfield Land Trust in Oxforshire in 1983 - the first community land Trust in the UK. He moved back to his native Bristol in 2011 and was a board member of Bristol CLT for a couple of years when we were developing our Fishponds Road site. He went on to start the CLH organisation Abolish Empty Office Buildings and was instrumental in helping create its project of six affordable flats in St. George. He also converted his large Georgian house in Clifton into a housing Co-op.

Community Led Homes West

Many of you will know that we divide our time between BCLT and Community Led Homes West (CLHWest), which is the community led housing enabling hub for the West of England. CLHWest has its own newsletter and website https://communityledhomeswest.co.uk/.

If you would like to read all about developments in the local community-led housing sector and find out what support is available to groups, then please sign up to the newsletter https://communityledhomeswest.co.uk/newsletter-signup

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