The proposed scheme will benefit a lot of people in a number of different ways:
The local community
Benefits from the creation of 19 new affordable social rent homes where people with a housing need and a strong local connection to the Parish would have priority when it comes to allocation of the houses for rent. It is intended that these homes cannot be sold and will remain available for the community in perpetuity.
The primary school and other community reliant assets and services
The scheme should provide a pipeline of children feeding into the school, helping to secure its future. More permanent households in the Parish will help to support the post offices, community groups, bus services etc
The Community Land Trust
The CLT is a not-for-profit community benefit society run by volunteers. It has been dependent on grants for running costs and these will not cover running costs for ever. As part of the project, the landowners transfer the land to the CLT for the housing project for a nominal amount (in this case £1).
The CLT lease this land to the Housing Association (HA) for a nominal amount ( in this case £1). The HA builds the housing development.
As owner of the land, under the lease, the CLT receives a modest sum of ground rent from the HA to enable it to meet its running costs once the houses are built. This would currently work out at £4 per week per affordable home. This will secure running costs for the CLT for the future, including the allotments provision which will be owned and run by the CLT.
The local lettings plan criteria for occupation of the houses puts those with a strong local connection and a housing need in a position of priority when it comes to allocation of the houses and the local lettings plan would be secured by provisions in the lease to the housing association and in the section 106 agreement with the local authority.
The landowners
The landowners will receive a nominal sum for the land they transfer to the CLT (in this case £1) and will have the benefit of planning permission for 2 house plots on the part of the field that they retain. The plots will have the benefit of the infrastructure and services provided as part of the housing development. The landowners have the cost of building the 2 houses themselves. These houses will have a restriction that they be for principal residence occupancy only so they will not become second homes or holiday lets.
The Housing Association (in this case, Aster Communities which is a charitable registered society that builds and manages affordable homes supported by grants from Homes England)
The HA receives the benefit of a long lease of the land for development, granted to it by the CLT as owner of the land, for a nominal amount (in this case £1). The Housing Association is responsible for building and renting the affordable housing, managing and maintaining them and the related infrastructure. As owners of the leasehold of the development, they allocate and rent the houses to tenants in accordance with the local lettings plan which places priority on people with a strong local connection.
When will the houses become available and how do you apply for one?
Provided that planning permission is granted, the new homes would not become available until they have been built, anticipated to be perhaps in early 2026 so there is still some time before new homes would be available for rent.
The people who will be considered for the homes, when they become available, will be those with a housing need who have submitted or updated an application on the Devon Homes Choice website. The people who will have priority for these homes will be those with a strong local connection.
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