Go ahead for Wiltshire’s first Community Land Trust Affordable Housing scheme

SEEND Community Land Trust have taken a huge step forward with the formal granting of planning permission for affordable homes in the parish.

The trust report, “Wiltshire Council approved the plans for the 11-home project, which includes one self-build home and ten affordable homes to enable local people to be housed in the village.  The scheme will be built at Park Farm in Seend Cleeve and will be built to Passivhaus standard. 

“The project has been driven forward by Seend Community Land Trust, a community organisation with over 250 members. Over the last few years the Trust has worked closely with the Wiltshire and Swindon community-led housing hub (Homes of Our Own), White Horse Housing Association and PKA Architects to progress the scheme to this stage.  

“The homes range from one to four-bedroom properties. Seven of the properties will be available on an affordable rented basis and three will be offered as shared ownership.  The cost of running the homes will be much lower than equivalent new properties, because the homes have been designed to be highly energy efficient and meet Passivhaus standards  

“This high design standard has been possible due to funding and support from Homes England and Wiltshire Council, together with investment by White Horse Housing Association.” 

Steven Vaux of Seend CLT said, “Many affordable homes have been lost in rural Seend through the ‘right to buy’ scheme.  In a novel and supportive partnership model with White Horse Housing Association Seend people have chosen to redress some of that loss through an innovative next generation low energy alternative.  These homes will provide a small number of good quality affordable housing opportunities for Seend’s current and future generations.” 

Steve Warran, Chief Executive of White Horse Housing Association said, “We are delighted that planning permission has now been granted and we are able to move forward with this innovative and exciting project. The Association have always sought to provide high quality, sustainable and environmentally friendly homes for local people, but these 10 homes take us to another level. We believe Passive Haus design is the development model of the future and one that really starts to address the climate emergency”. 

Cllr Phil Alford, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Housing, said, “This is a perfect example of local communities identifying needs in their area and working hard and innovatively with partners to resolve them. 

“These energy efficient properties will be a welcome addition to the local area. They will have lower energy bills, will be more affordable to live in, support the carbon reduction aspirations, and lovely homes for those who need them for many years to come.”  

Construction of the homes is hoped to commence in September 2021 and the project be completed in the autumn of 2022.  

If you have a local connection to Seend and are interested in applying for one of the homes, please register your interest on Wiltshire Council’s housing register at www.homes4wiltshire. co.uk and also with White Horse Housing Association by contacting info@whitehorsehousing.co.uk. 

For more information about the Park Farm development see www.seendclt. org.uk.