New research carried out by the Community Land Trust Network reveals the strong levels of local authority support for community led housing development in England and Wales in the form of policies, grants and loans and land disposals and leases.
The research found:
- One in two councils who responded are actively supporting community led housing, with a slight rise in the number giving high levels of support
- The share of councils with policies supportive of community led housing more than doubled from 2019 to 2022, now up to more than 1 in 3 who responded.
- The percentage of councils who have awarded grants or loans to community led housing groups has more than doubled since 2019, now up to 2 in 3 who responded. The overall number of grants and loans councils awarded to community led housing groups has significantly increased since 2019, up from 259 to 946, a 265% increase.
- The percentage of councils who have disposed of or leased land to community led housing projects has grown massively since 2019, up from just 11% to 65% of councils who responded
The support of local authorities is essential for community led housing groups to access funding, planning permissions and land disposals to progress their projects. These results make it clear that local government support for the community led housing movement is gaining ground. This growth in support is thanks to the community led housing groups across England and Wales, including CLTs, who’ve built strong working relationships with their councils and raised the profile of community led housing as a viable route for delivering much-needed affordable housing.
