Lisette Veit explains how the village’s Community Land Trust is giving hope to those for whom the price of renting a home in the village puts them out of reach.
The newly approved block of flats in the Histon conservation area that will overlook Tesco on School Hill has raised lots of questions for village residents. One question is about affordable housing: in this era of rocketing house prices and astronomical rents, what does ‘affordable’ really mean?
‘Affordable’ means unaffordable
It turns out that the government definition of ‘affordable’ is no such thing for the majority of people on a low income. To be classed as affordable, a private let can be for up to 80% of the market rate.
So if the average private property in the Histon & Impington area is let for £1,709 per month (according to home.co.uk) an ‘affordable’ rent would be £1,367 per month, or £16,406 per year. This is well above the actual affordable rate for people on a median salary quoted by South Cambs District Council’s ‘ladder of affordability’.
Limited solutions
So much for private rentals. What about housing let by the Council itself or Housing Associations? Even these can be beyond the reach of many working people, at between 60% to 80% of the private rental market.
Housing in an area where what people earn doesn’t match well with what they must pay in rent is often unaffordable for young people, key workers, separated families wishing to live close by to each other, elderly parents wishing to move closer to their children, or disabled people wishing for more independence, for example.
Another option in a new development might be shared ownership. This is where a buyer owns a share of a property, usually between 25% and 70%, and pays a mortgage on this share, as well as a low rent on the remaining share, which the Housing Association owns.
How can a Community Land Trust help?
Community Land Trusts are locally driven, not-for-profit organisations set up and run by ordinary people in the community to develop and own assets for the community. Most often this is affordable housing, which is bought for use by those with strong local connections.
These Trusts are wholly owned and run by their members, and all their assets are held in trust for the community, forever.
Members have a say in the kinds of designs to be use in any housing development, so instead of trying to make as much profit as possible, they invest in the community’s future. And unlike a property developer or a Housing Association, any money paid in rent to a CLT is reinvested back into their communities to create more of the homes or amenities they need.
Meeting local need
Histon and Impington Community Land Trust (HICLT) was formed in 2020 to address the huge problem of affordable housing in these villages.
Since then it has been working towards finding solutions for our residents and key workers by identifying potential local sites, understanding the best methods of planning and costing a local community resource, and collecting knowledge from the CLT network and other CLT’s experiences.
The next step is to hear the stories of anyone suffering from unaffordable housing in Histon and Impington and fully understand the problems facing those who wish to set up home in the villages.
In 2022 a Cambridgeshire Acre housing needs survey of residents found that people were most in need of one and two bedroom properties. But HICLT Trustee Annie Naughten, a social architect, says: “The real problem with housing needs surveys is that people don’t ask for enough. In fact, they often say they need a lot less than they actually do!”
So if you respond to our short survey here, you can help us gain the depth of understanding we need as we firm up more detailed proposals.
Your involvement matters
To move forward, the support of the community is vital.
Members are the people who can influence the direction of any developments from the beginning, and ensure that the needs of the community are represented. The more members, the more representative that influence will be, so please join us in making Histon and Impington a place to be even more proud of. Anyone with a connection to the villages can be a member – and the good news is, it only costs £1.
To share any story about the impact of unaffordable housing in Histon and Impington, please complete our short survey here.
To show your support for the work of the HICLT and become a member, contact us through our website at www.hiclt.org