Newsletter

BCLT 2021 Autumn Newsletter

Hello from Patsy, BCLT's Chair

Well, it really feels like the world is opening up at last and that means that I have been able to meet our BCLT members (and even some of my fellow Board Members) for the first time!  Thank you to everyone who came to BCLT's AGM in September. It felt like a very special occasion in a very appropriate and lovely setting – Bridge Farm. The pizzas were delicious and the three presentations about three really different but equally fascinating community led housing projects made it a very memorable evening.  

 

Now that we have been able to hold our first face to face events in almost two years, there’s no stopping us! Please read on for details of more events designed to promote and develop community led housing and to engage with and grow our membership. I look forward to meeting many more of you in the weeks and months to come. 


Finally I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff team for their hard work over the last few months.  It’s been a very busy time and, by the looks of the programme ahead, its going to get even busier!

CEO Update, Steve Dale

We’re entering a really important time for BCLT and for community-led housing in our region. There are so many exciting projects in and around Bristol, but to continue this success there needs to be a joined-up approach to community led housing. We need landowners, lenders and local authorities to be working together to guarantee a supply of land, finance and the technical support which communities need to make their vision for housing a reality. 


BCLT has taken on the task of bringing stakeholders together to create this plan and, as you will read below, that means there’s a lot going on over the coming months and plenty of opportunity for our members to get involved. I look forward to seeing you at one of our planned events or hearing your views in our survey or roundtables. 

Huge thanks to everyone who attended our AGM back in September at Bridge Farm. It was our first ‘in-person’ event in over two years and we all appreciated the chance to (finally) meet our members.
 
We were very lucky to have such excellent speakers in Maddy Longhurst from Tiny House Community Bristol, Melissa Mean from We Can Make, and Taus Larsen from Furze Cooperative who inspired us with their plans for community led projects in development. We were also pleased to welcome Tom Renhard, Cabinet Member for Housing Delivery and Homes at Bristol City Council who reiterated his strong support for community led housing. New paragraph

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

  • Slide title

    Write your caption here
    Button

2020-21 Impact Report

  • What did BCLT and CLH West achieve last year?
  • What are we planning for next year?
  • How many community-led homes have been built in our region?
  • How many are in the pipeline?

 
You’ll find all the answers in the BCLT & CLH West Impact Report.
 
Published in September 2021 this, our first Impact Report, celebrates the achievements of the financial year 2020-21 and looks ahead to our plans for 2021-22. Despite the challenges we have all faced through Covid-19 and lockdowns, we’re very proud of what we – and the sector at large – have been able to achieve. Thanks to everyone who helped us to produce this report.
 
 You can read the full document here.

Building a strategy for Community Led Housing in the West of England

Have your say...

In the West of England we have all the conditions to be a national leader in community led housing. (Well, almost.) We have communities pioneering new ways of delivering housing, local authorities with innovative policies to support their efforts and a successful community led housing enabling hub – CLH West – to support everyone’s efforts. But, to guarantee a supply of land, finance and technical support in the long-term, we need a coherent strategy for community led housing.  BCLT is working with partners to create this plan and that includes you.


We are organising a ‘Roundtable’ event for BLCT members to discuss what they see as the opportunities and the barriers to community led housing. It’s open to all members, of all backgrounds. You don’t have to have been involved in a community led housing project to take part. Wherever you’re coming from, your views are important.
 

The session will last 90 minutes and will take place online via Zoom. We will confirm the date once we have our participants. Please register your interest by 1 November via this contact form.

Membership Development

BCLT has a broad membership, made up of people with a wide range of reasons for getting involved. From those who simply need a safe roof over their head, to those who want to create new solutions to our housing crisis and the broken housing system which fails so many thousands of people in our region.
 
We want to make sure that everyone gets what they need out of BCLT. That means ensuring that we offer the information and services you expect – such as events, resources, training etc. It also means that, as an organisation, we move in the direction that our members think we should. We tackle the issues you care about and help to make the change you want to see.
 
You will shortly be emailed a link to our new members survey where we will be asking for your views on what we should be doing and how you would like to be involved. Please take the time to complete this. It’s very important to us, and to the future of community-led housing. 

A visit to Shaldon Road, Riannan Martinson

I was thrilled to be able to visit Shaldon Road recently, and see how the scheme is growing. Having not been to the site since the building works had begun, with my only concept of how it would look held in the architects drawings, it was quite overwhelming to be there in person and see the vision brought to life. The site has been transformed from a bleak expanse of stubble, punctuated with litter, to a bustling development with an abundance of colour. It is hard not to step onto the site, and not feel joy when greeted with vibrantly coloured renders, which were chosen by prospective residents through the consultation period many, many moons ago!

 

Even better, I got the opportunity to meet some of the residents while they were working on the completion of their homes. One resident talked me through the scope of the self-finish, which involves tiling the kitchens and bathrooms, fixing all skirting boards and architraves, and painting, and proudly showed me some of her hard work, including the sleekest banister I’ve encountered! This work will earn residents reduction in rent, or a greater equity share of their homes. And as one of the residents pointed out, the community is already built as part of this process – there’s already a section of the site which is dubbed ‘baby corner’! I also got to catch up with a resident who I’d interviewed in the summer of 2017, when I was working through the allocations process. It was  so nice to see her again, but a bit of a shock that her then little girl is now a teenager!

 

It highlighted that this has been a really long journey for all those who have been involved, and the finish line really is coming up on the horizon. I am so excited for all of the future residents who will soon be settling into their new homes, and reaping the rewards of their long hard journey to getting there

Volunteering opportunities within the BCLT:

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. 

Bedtime Reading

Two important publications have come out in the last month, and you will see BCLT’s Fishponds Road site featured in both.
 
 The Bacon Review
 This was in independent review, commissioned by the Prime Minister in April 2021, and led by Richard Bacon MP. The report makes recommendations on how the government can support growth in the custom and self-build market, of which Community-led Housing is central.
 
 Delivering the Community Led Housing Pipeline In England
 The Community Land Trust Network and Community Led Homes published this report, which is based on research developed in partnership with other key Community Led Housing organisations. The report looks at the financial requirements of delivering Community Led Housing projects, and explores how these can be met. 

Share by: