NAME OF ORGANISATION: Bristol Community Land Trust
LOCATION: Bristol
YEAR FOUNDED: 2011
ABOUT: A community land trust developing community-led sustainable housing schemes for local people with little access to the local housing market.
INVESTMENT PURPOSE: To develop six new build homes and refurbish an old school building to create six flats.
INVESTMENT AMOUNT: £1.2m
DATE OF INVESTMENT: 2015
SOURCE OF INVESTMENT: Affordable Homes Rental Fund
IMPACT: Housing & Homelessness; Community & Local Democracy
ABOUT: A former chapel-turned-school seemed like the perfect site for the first homes built by Bristol Community Land Trust. Set up to tackle the insecurity of private renting whilst self-building, the CLT managed to build a communal environment and provide a real sense of ownership for the self-builders. Residents played an active role in the design phase and were able to self-finish their homes, earning ‘sweat equity.’ This means in return for the time and effort they put into their project, they can increase the share of the property they own, or reduce the rent they pay. Not only does this create a greater sense of involvement and community, as well as reducing isolation, it also means those homes are really affordable. The homes also have solar panels, meaning residents save on electricity bills while reducing their carbon footprint, and they also manage their shared garden together.
PURPOSE OF INVESTMENT: One challenge for any Community Land Trust planning to build homes for affordable sale and affordable rental, is to decide the mix of tenures. However, that doesn’t play well with most mainstream bank lenders, which require certainty over the mix of homes for rent or sale at the outset. The Resonance Affordable Homes Rental Fund was able to provide a creative solution in a flexible loan that enabled BCLT to respond to demand for any mix of rents or sales, in line with the needs of local families.
A resident at Fishponds: “I am… not young… and have lived in rented properties for most of my adult life with very little security up till now. I would like you all to know how much you’ve helped me and how much this means to me….I have gone from extreme anxiety and little hope to being the proud resident of a beautiful home in which I’ve invested and on which I’ve made my mark.”
Resonance Limited is a company registered in England and Wales no. 04418625
Resonance Impact Investment Limited, a subsidiary of Resonance Limited, is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Firm number 588462.
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