NAME OF ORGANISATION: Broadhempston Community Land Trust
LOCATION: Devon
YEAR FOUNDED: 2012
ABOUT: To enable local people in housing need to develop affordable eco-housing.
INVESTMENT PURPOSE: To purchase a two acre site and start the development, building six affordable, self-build, eco-houses (Four four-bedroom homes and two three-bedroom properties).
INVESTMENT AMOUNT: £880,000
DATE OF INVESTMENT: 2014
SOURCE OF INVESTMENT: Affordable Homes Rental Fund
IMPACT: Housing & Homelessness; Community & Local Democracy;
ABOUT: Broadhempston was set up to address the lack of affordable, sustainable homes for local people in the area. As a result, the rents of the Broadhempston properties are set at 20-25% below the open market rate for the area, and a small proportion of the rent will go towards occupiers owning a little more of their house each year.
To address the needs of local people and tackle the issue of second home ownership, applicants had to demonstrate being resident in the parish for the preceding two years (or for five years at some time in the past) to become a self-builder at Broadhempston. They also had to have a total household income of less than £60,000 and commit to regular construction training, completion of their building work on time, and helping others on the site, including a commitment to a minimum of twenty hours per week on the project.
There is a real sense of community cohesion as the CLT has planted a community orchard and installed a play area for all children in the village to enjoy.
PURPOSE OF INVESTMENT: Mainstream finance would lend only part of the costs and were too expensive, so the Resonance Affordable Homes Rental Fund funded the bulk of this £1m project, supporting Broadhempston CLT with their ambitious plans to secure the affordable housing they needed whilst providing them with a stable and resilient financial base. Resonance worked with the group to understand the detail behind the build process, in order to gain comfort in financing 100% of the build costs. It offered a solution to the issues that rural communities often have around affordable homes offerings.
Simon Sutcliffe, Chair at Broadhempston CLT: “The Resonance Affordable Homes Rental Fund loan enabled us to self-build affordable homes for local families in our village. The team at Resonance was very easy to work with and they gave us valuable support, were accessible to us and able and willing to respond to the developing demands of the project.”
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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