Background

History of the Thorverton Community Land Trust (TCLT)

Thorverton Community Land Trust (TCLT) was formed in 2024. The simple aim of the group is to build affordable housing for local people that will be available in perpetuity.

In the previous eight years prior to the formation of TCLT in 2024, two large sites had been built in the village by commercial developers, with some affordable housing having to be provided to satisfy planning conditions. A number of villagers found difficulty in getting access to the affordable houses on one development and brought their concerns to the Parish Council in early 2022. As a result of this a PC working group (TAHG, Thorverton Affordable Housing Group) was set up to see what might be possible if local people worked together.

TAHG was originally a group of five, including three council members of the PC, the PC Clerk and a resident of Thorverton who has extensive background in affordable housing and who had been a senior member of a similar group that had built Affordable Homes in nearby Upton Pyne.

TAHG was given positive and welcome support by MDDC Housing and Planning Enabling Department from the early stages, with the funding of a Housing Needs Survey (HNS) in the first instance. This important initial step was needed to establish the real demand for Affordable Housing in Thorverton.

The HNS was carried out by Devon Communities Together, an independent charity that has been undertaking such surveys for more than ten years. The survey was sent to 479 addresses, with 146 returned, a very good 30% response rate. The survey’s summary initially identified the need for 14 Affordable Homes, but this was subsequently increased to 19 when the HNS deadline was extended, which is considered a significant number for a village of this size. The type of housing needed was approximately half for rent and half for discounted market sale.

In addition, the Survey section for people over 55 showed that 11 households expect to move in the next 5 years, the majority (64%) wanting a home that is better suited to their needs, but not specifically designed for older people. The question now raised is whether the stock available on the open market in the village is suitable for such downsizing.

TAHG took these results to the Parish at Open Meetings where it was agreed to form a Community Land Trust which would continue with the work started by TAHG.

TAHG itself was replaced by a new larger Steering Group (SG).

At their first meeting the SG appointed an advisor, Geoff Pook, who has successfully delivered two Affordable Housing Projects in Beer and was able to offer his considerable background knowledge to the Steering Group.

The next step was to establish four groups, each with a specific responsibility:

• Community engagement, membership and communication
• Corporate governance, structure and legal
• Technical, site procurement and outline designs
• Finance, funding and viability modelling