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Lyme Regis Community Land Trust Public Meeting Monday 13 th October 2014
Lyme Regis Community Land Trust
Public Meeting Monday 13th October 2014
Lyme Regis Community Land Trust
AGENDA
• 7.30 Welcome and safety announcement – Rob McLaughlin
• 7.32 Address by Her Worship the Mayor, Cllr Sally Holman
• 7.35 Introductions and purpose of the meeting – Denis Yell
• 7.45 Presentation:
– the housing problem in Lyme Regis– Brian Rattenbury
– what is a CLT ; development of LRCLT? – Rob McLaughlin
– our site search – Keith Jenkin
– next steps – Denis Yell
• 8.15 Questions and Answers
• 8.55 Summing Up – Denis Yell
• 9.00 End of Meeting
Refreshments available throughout, and bar open
Introductions • Her Worship The Mayor, Cllr Sally Holman
• Steve Watson, Wessex CLT Project
• Louise Lote, Yarlington Housing Group
• Lorna Jenkin, Secretary/Treasurer LRCLT
• Keith Jenkin, Director LRCLT
• Brian Rattenbury, Director LRCLT
• Robert McLaughlin, Director LRCLT
• Denis Yell, Chairman, LRCLT
The Housing Problem in Lyme Regis
Brian Rattenbury
A director of LRCLT
The Problem!
• There is a need for affordable homes for rent in Lyme Regis
• There is limited (if any) space available in Lyme to build new affordable homes for local people
• Local rents are high – wages are low
• Lyme residents can stay and pay or move away!
The Priorities
•HOMES FOR LOCAL PEOPLE
•AFFORDABLE RENTS
• NB: Affordable homes provided as part of market rate schemes are not just for “local” people
• CLT SCHEMES ARE!
• Currently over 100 households on West
Dorset District Council’s Housing Register with a local connection to Lyme Regis.
• 'Local connection' typically means living
here, working here or with family here.
• Only 30 affordable homes in the pipeline, none of which are restricted to local people. .
Local need for affordable housing
An attempt at a SOLUTION
• A Community Land Trust, consisting of local people, to seek out and identify suitable sites for development of affordable homes for rent.
• The CLT to then bring about the development of a housing scheme on a suitable chosen site, by collaborating with a Housing Association
• The CLT involvement will ensure the homes are for Lyme people at affordable rents
What is a CLT? Development of the
Community Land Trust in Lyme Regis
Robert McLaughlin
A director of LRCLT
What is a Community Land Trust? • A not-for-profit organisation limited by guarantee set up
to benefit a defined community.
• A CLT can own any asset that is important to a community, but typically specialises in holding the freehold of land in perpetuity to be allocated for affordable housing.
• CLTs are about local people being in control of local assets.
• They aim to ensure that communities remain sustainable.
What is a Community Land Trust? • Anyone who lives or works in the community, and
supports the aims of the CLT can join as a member
• The CLT is run by a board of directors - all members are eligible to stand for the board and vote the board in.
• Lyme Regis CLT is a company limited by guarantee, primarily established to provide affordable homes for people with a connection to Lyme Regis.
• Lyme Regis CLT is affiliated to the National CLT Network and supported by the Wessex CLT Project
Setting up the LRCLT and Main
Accomplishments
• Public meeting: March 2013 • Survey of possible sites: Summer 2013 • Identified a promising site Autumn 2013 • CLT incorporated: Jan 2014 • Website set up: March 2014 • Application for grants: May 2014 • Agreed terms with landowner: July 2014 • Selection of housing association partner: June 2014 • Selection of architect: September 2014 • Public meeting: October 2014
Lyme Regis CLT’s website: http://lrclt.btck.co.uk/
Lyme Regis Community Land Trust
The Directors and the Treasurer/Secretary in 2014: Brian Rattenbury, Keith Jenkin, Lorna Jenkin,
Robert McLaughlin and Denis Yell
Lyme Regis Community Land Trust
Membership invitation You are invited to apply for membership of Lyme Regis CLT – please ask for membership details at the end of the meeting, or ... contact any of the Directors, or... Visit the website http://lrclt.btck.co.uk
Our Site Search
Keith Jenkin
A director of LRCLT
The Search For A Site • During the Summer of 2013, an exhaustive search
was made for possible sites for affordable homes in Lyme
• This search extended and used investigations already carried out by LymeForward over several years up to 2009, in collaboration with WDDC and LRTC, and was supported by the Wessex CLT Project
• Wessex CLT Project specialises in helping communities to find land for housing for local people e.g. Symondsbury, Marshwood, Toller Porcorum, Maiden Newton, Dalwood and Powerstock
Where to build the homes?
With the help of information received from Lyme Forward, over 20 possible sites have
been considered by the CLT.
Sites outside the town’s development boundary can be considered if the homes are
prioritised for local people; just the sort of restriction the CLT is aiming to achieve.
Sites considered
LymeForward worked with West Dorset District Council to investigate possible sites for affordable housing
Physical constraints
Sidmouth Road
Charmouth Road
The proposed site for a development
• After considering several sites, eventually one was identified in a field at the junction of Charmouth Road and Timber Hill, opposite the Golf Club. An approach was made to the owner, who has agreed terms with the CLT.
• The intention is to build between 12 and 15 homes for affordable rent on this site.
The Proposed Site The proposed site is the small triangular field, plus a small piece of the field below it. It will be one acre. Vehicle access from Timber Hill. Pedestrian access from the footpath on Charmouth Road.
Where Is It?
Why the Charmouth Rd site?
It is in Stability Zone 1:
• Any site in Stability Zones 2-5 would very likely be too expensive to develop as affordable housing.
Why the Charmouth Rd site?
It is almost level:
• Many other sites are sloping or steeply sloping; again likely to be too expensive to develop for affordable housing.
Why the Charmouth Rd site?
It is available
• The other field at Charmouth Rd is not for sale.
• The CLT has agreed terms with the landowner.
Why the Charmouth Rd site?
The site is accessible:
• Many possible sites in the west of Lyme are land-locked.
• There is a footpath down Charmouth Rd.
• There is a school bus route along Charmouth Rd.
• There is a bus stop near the site
Next Steps
Denis Yell
Chairman of LRCLT
Number and Type of Homes
• The proposal is for 12-15 affordable rented properties; a mixture of 1 bed, 2 bed and 3 bed homes
• Planning permission would be on the condition that the homes are prioritised for people with a connection to Lyme and are affordable in perpetuity.
• This is exactly what the CLT wants to achieve. Very few of the existing affordable homes in Lyme Regis are prioritised for local people.
Who pays?
• The CLT has obtained a grant from Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) for feasibility and initial design costs.
• The chosen Housing Association will also obtain grant from HCA, and use its own money, to develop the site.
• Lyme Regis CLT will own the freehold and enter into a long-term lease with the HA.
Who will develop these homes?
• The CLT has interviewed and selected a Housing Association to work with in the development – Yarlington Housing Group
• YHG will let the homes to people with a local connection; the criteria to be agreed by LRCLT as a planning condition
Current Rent Examples
• Rents (inc any service charges) won't be more than the Local Housing Allowance rates but we hope they will be lower.
• The current LHA rates are:
• One Bedroom Rate:£104.89 per week
• Two Bedrooms Rate:£137.31 per week
• Three Bedrooms Rate:£161.31 per week
• So the CLT aims for lower rates than these
Who will design the homes? After a selection process, The CLT appointed Boon Brown of
Yeovil as the architects for the pre-planning design work
Sympathetic Design
• The architects will design the scheme to be sympathetic to the landscape, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• Reporting to the CLT, they will work in
collaboration with Yarlington Housing Group, whose own house types are to a high specification, particularly in respect of environmental standards
• Both companies are accomplished in achieving
successful, imaginative housing schemes
Examples of Boon Brown Projects
Pottery Lane Weymouth on behalf of Magna Housing Association
MOD Houses, Middle Wallop
Examples of Yarlington Projects The Teasels, Curry Rivel Mitchell Park, Chard
CLT Homes in Norton sub Hamdon
Dalwood, East Devon
Surveys • Using HCA funding, the CLT has commissioned several
consultants to undertake pre planning surveys at the site
• These include:
1. Topographical
2. Ecological
3. Tree Survey
4. Other investigative work
5. Meanwhile YHG has appointed consultants to undertake landscape and engineering reviews.
• These, together with related cost reviews, will be used to inform the designers and ensure the feasibility of the site.
Traffic • Traffic implications at the site are being
carefully considered, even for this small scheme
• Vehicle access to the housing will be located away from the main junction
• Pedestrian access will make use of the existing footpath on Charmouth Road
What Next? • The CLT, with Yarlington its Housing Association working
partner, is preparing a submission for OUTLINE PLANNING PERMISSION this month
• This submission seeks to establish the Planning
Authorities’ endorsement of the site and to satisfy funding agencies that the scheme should be able to proceed. It does not detail the precise features of the houses or of final layout etc. Such issues can be reviewed later in 2014.
• Early in 2015, the CLT and Yarlington intends to apply for
FULL PLANNING PERMISSION.
When Will The Homes Be Built?
• West Dorset DC have to be satisfied that the scheme satisfies their planning conditions
• If planning permission is granted, it is hoped that the homes will be built in 2016, and certainly by 2017
How Will Tenancies Be Decided? • The CLT will have an Allocations Plan endorsed
by the Housing Association
• The Allocations Plan will set out clearly the criteria enabling a person to apply for a home
• The Allocations Plan will prioritise people who live, work or have a strong family connection to Lyme Regis
• Public Meeting 6 months before allocations when applications can be made
• Landlord will interview prospective tenants
Allocation
Tenants will be selected by the landlords, Yarlington Housing Group, according to criteria agreed with the Community Land Trust Hopefully people will move into their new homes by 2017
Open Forum
Q&A
Lyme Regis Community Land Trust
