What are CLT’s?

Community Land Trusts (or CLT’s) are democratic, non-profit organisations through which local/ordinary people can own land and buildings (assets) together for the long-term benefit of their own community. As the community owns these assets, they also get to make decisions about them which are based on shared principles and aims that benefit the community. CLT’s exist in opposition to developers who buy land without considering the wants and needs of the immediate community and they give agency back to those who do not usually have a say in housing.

CLT’s have a legal ‘asset lock’ which means any assets can only be sold or developed in a way that benefits the local community and therefore can’t be sold just for ‘profit’. This ensures homes remain genuinely affordable (based on what people ‘actually’ earn in their area) for the long term. While CLT’s generally have an emphasis on housing, they can also be used to develop other assets like community enterprises, community spaces such as pubs or cafes, workspaces or even food growing initiatives.

History of the Community Land Trust

While Community Land Trusts are relatively new, they have emerged from a rich history of ideas around community stewardship over common land, dating as early as ancient India where references to land tenure in the Vedic texts, the foundation of Hindu spirituality, prohibit the deeding of land. Early ideas behind the first community land trust prototypes gained momentum during the political struggles of the 20^th century in America, and particularly during the civil rights movement. Notable early actors were peace activist Bob Swann and Slater King (a cousin of Martin Luther King) whose drive to buy sites for black farmers forced off their land in the rural South led to the creation of the ‘first’ CLT ‘New Communities Inc’ in Albany, Georgia in 1969. However, it wasn’t until the 1990s that the American CLT began to gain momentum, mainly thanks to years of shared learnings and a more favourable policy and funding environment. Today there are over 240 CLTs in the USA.

The UK’s history of the Community Land Trust took much inspiration from the US. It began in the early 2000s with academics and community development professionals at the forefront. In 2010, the Community Land Trust Network (which was then called the National CLT Network) was established to support the growing CLT movement and advocate on behalf of CLTs. There are now over 500 CLT’s in the UK of which Hastings Commons Community Land Trust is one of them.

Hastings Commons CLT

The Hastings Commons Community Land Trust began life in March 2016 as Heart of Hastings CLT. It was brought under the umbrella of Hastings Commons and renamed as the Hastings Commons CLT at the AGM in September 2022. Hastings Commons CLT currently owns one-third of Hastings Commons Neighbourhood Ventures (HCNV). HCNV, is the risk-taking organisation, responsible for managing and developing the properties that the CLT owns. A recent example of this is 12 Claremont which is a historical building in the process of being renovated into an inclusive arts hub. Once the buildings reach ‘steady state’ and are earning enough to sustain themselves, the plan is for the CLT to buy all the shares from the founder investors and therefore own 100% of the shares of the company.

Our CLT exists so that we can have:

Genuinely affordable homes. Since 2020, rents have gone up steeply in Hastings while wages have stagnated, so it’s harder and harder to find an affordable place to live. We currently have 11 rent capped homes, with more homes soon to be developed in the Observer Building. In order to make our homes affordable, we follow a model we call ‘Living Rents’. The rent is set at a 1/3 of average local income and only rises with inflation.
More creative collaborative workspaces for local people. Community land trusts can be more than just providing housing. We support the health of the local economy by providing a wide range of workspaces from hot-desks in the Observer Building to the wonderful top-floor office in Rock House, tenanted by Technology Box, who first moved into Rock House in 2015 and have been providing internet services across the Commons ever since.
More community building and ‘commoning’. We believe one of the most important solutions in this multi-crisis world is to work together for the greater mutual good – whether that is international cooperation to tackle climate emergency or localised DIY commoning to tackle physical dereliction and social isolation. Our Community Land Trust is a step in achieving what we call ‘commoning’. ‘Commoning’ involves people working together to positively change their environment, and in doing so taking opportunities to improve their own lives within an open and mutually supportive community.

Interested to learn more?

We dream of the day our whole community is part of the land trust! The more members we have, the closer we are of achieving our goals. It costs just £1 and 5 minutes to sign up as a member of the Hastings Commons CLT. You can do so here: https://hastingscommons.com/join/

Find out more about what our CLT has been up to by reading our 2022 – 2023 Annual Report.