Council to contribute over £160,000 to Community Led Affordable Housing Scheme
The Forest of Dean District Council has agreed to provide £160,529 of unallocated affordable housing funding to a Community Led Housing Scheme in Longhope.
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.”
Longhope Community Land Trust in partnership with its registered provider partner, Aster, has permission to build twelve affordable homes on a rural exception site at Church Road in Longhope to help meet the needs of people who have a local connection to Longhope.
Community Land Trusts (CLT) are community organisations run by ordinary people who want to make a difference to their local community. In this case, it is to try and provide affordable housing to help local people in housing need.
The District Council has already provided £10,290 of community led housing funding to help establish Longhope Community Land Trust and to support them in bringing forward their proposals for development. The Council will now commit to a further £160,529 from its commuted sum reserves to contribute to the development of the project.
A commuted sum is an amount of money paid by a developer to the Council 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. This money can only be used to provide affordable housing in the district.
Work is expected to start on the site in 2024 and further details on this will be announced once they have been confirmed. Residents who are interested in this affordable housing with a local connection to Longhope are advised to register with Homeseeker Plus, via https://www.homeseekerplus.co.uk