A VILLAGE community leading a “first-of-its-kind” scheme to provide affordable housing for people with local connections has secured funding of more than £160,000 from the Forest Council.
The Longhope Community Land Trust (CLT), an organisation made up of local people, together with its registered provider partner, Aster, was granted permission to build twelve affordable homes on a rural exception site at Church Road in Longhope back in September.
The scheme was proposed by the CLT to help meet the affordable housing needs of people who have a local connection to Longhope.
Having already provided £10,290 of community-led housing funding to help establish the trust and support them in bringing forward their proposals, the council has now agreed to give £160,529 to further the development of the scheme.
The funding comes from the local authority’s reserves of commuted sums, which are paid by developers where the size or scale of a development triggers a requirement for affordable housing, but it is not possible to achieve appropriate affordable housing on site.
The money can only be used to provide affordable housing in the district.
Cabinet Member for Built Environment, Councillor Adrian Birch, said: “To see this first-of-its-kind project beginning to take shape is an exciting prospect for Longhope residents.
“As a Council we want to provide more affordable and accessible homes for our residents and it’s great to see a local community organisation, helping us reach this goal whilst shaping their own village.
“The people who understand the needs of their community the most are those who live there.
“So, it’s great that we’re able to provide funding to help a local community group deliver affordable housing in this way.”
Work is expected to start on the site in 2024.
The council says further details on this will be announced once they have been confirmed.
Residents who are interested in affordable housing with a local connection to Longhope are advised to register with Homeseeker Plus.