Frequently Asked Questions

 

Please see below a selection of FAQ's for the Arundel Community Land Trust specifically as well as some general CLT and Housing Register questions.

 

If your enquiry is not addressed here, please do contact us and we will endeavour to answer the question and if necessary update this list of FAQs.

 

 

What is a Community Land Trust?

Community land trusts are set up and run by ordinary people to develop and manage homes as well as other assets. CLTs act as long-term stewards of housing, ensuring that it remains genuinely affordable, based on what people actually earn in their area, not just for now but for every future occupier.

 

For a more detailed definition and explanatory videos please see the Community Land Trust Network website. 

 

Why was the Arundel Community Land Trust established?

Arundel Community Land Trust (ACLT) has been established to help ensure affordable housing is available in Arundel to meet the needs of the local community.  By establishing a CLT Arundel is able to take control of local housing issues, and provide homes that are genuinely affordable for local people.  The CLT ensures that housing will stay in the hands of the community, and accessible to future generations of Arundel residents.

 

How does a CLT ensure homes are affordable?

CLTs aim to make rents as locally affordable as possible.  Using the Ford Road development as an example, the CLT is aiming for the affordable housing provided to have Social Rents which are around 60% of open market values, as opposed to Affordable Rents which are up to 80% of open market values.

 

How is community ownership of the land protected for the future?

The land on which the ACLT's affordable rented housing is built will be owned by the ACLT in perpetuity. There is a legal 'asset lock' on this land which ensures that is it protected and can only be used for community benefit in perpetuity.

 

What do you mean by 'community' and 'local connection'?

It is up to the members of the CLT to define the community that the trust will serve.  For Arundel CLT, our Rules confine us to the Arundel Parish. We encourage anyone who lives in the Parish of Arundel to become be a member of ACLT. Anyone with a local connection to Arundel, and who is in need of affordable housing, will get priority for the affordable rented housing within our first project at Ford Road. Local connection typically means either living in or having lived in the town/parish, having close family living here, work connections or being at school in the parish. The final details of this is defined in our Local Lettings Policy that has been agreed with Arun District Council and our Registered Provider of Social Housing Aster.

 

How is the Arundel CLT run?

Arundel CLT is locally driven and controlled, and is democratically accountable to its members. 

 

Membership is open to all, including occupiers of ACLT properties and children aged 11 or over. 

 

The members elect a board of volunteers to run the trust on their behalf. Details of the current board can be found on our About Us page..

 

Are CLTs just about building homes for rent?

No, CLTs do set out to address local housing needs whatever that need may be: It could be a family seeking to buy a share in their home, or an elderly person seeking to downsize to more appropriate accommodation, freeing up a larger family home in the process.

 

And some CLTs provide and run other community assets such as Post Offices (as at Bishops Norton), pubs (as at Lyvenet CLT), shops nurseries and renewable energy projects (as at Stonesfiled CLT).

 

How can I become a member of the Arundel CLT?

The Arundel CLT is looking to the community to build up the number of our "Members".

 

"Members" are like shareholders, they pay £1 to join the Arundel CLT and have a say in how it is run at General Meetings etc. 

More details and the membership form can be found on our Get Involved page and it costs £1 per share to join.

 

 

Applying for Affordable Housing

 

How do I apply for a Community Land Trust home?

 

If you are interested in applying for one of the affordable homes, you need to register your interest with Arun District Council, on their 'Finding a Home/Community Land Trusts' dedicated page . 

 

See the Ford Road page for more details and links.

How is the priority order for housing allocation decided? 

Applicants will be allocated houses based on the eligibility criteria set out in the Local Lettings Policy as agreed with Arun District Council and our Registered Provider Aster.

 

The Local Lettings Policy has been agreed as part of the S106 Agreement, for details of this see our main Ford Road Project page or click on the links below:

 

Arundel Community Land Trust Local Lettings Social Rent Allocation Policy

 

Arundel Community Land Trust Local Lettings Shared Ownership Allocation Policy

 

Where two applicants have the same priority need they will be prioritised on the the date of application.

 

Who determines the Community Land Trust Allocation Policy and housing priorities?

The CLT Local Lettings Policy is determined and periodically reviewed by the Community Land Trust Board.

 

Why do I need to provide information about my income and savings?

The Community Land Trust (ACLT) and/or Local Authority (ADC), using the Local Lettings Policy, will try to ensure that the homes are provided for those people unable to get housing through the private market.

 

There are therefore income and savings limits which will be applied based on local housing market rent levels. 

 

To be eligible you will need to earn and/or have savings less than the specified limits.

 

I’m also interested in Shared Ownership?

Applicants wishing to be considered for Shared Ownership properties should register separately for this with Arun District Council and also Aster's page on Shared Owenership.

 

How will the properties be managed?

Where the Community Land Trust owns the property it will either manage the homes directly or contract with a letting agency or a housing association to provide day to day letting, housing management and maintenance services. Where the CLT does not own the property it will have ‘Nomination Rights’ in order to determine priorities, in the same way as described above.

 

How will the rents be determined?

The rent, and any service charge, will be determined by the managing agent (where applicable) in conjunction with the Community Land Trust. Details of how the rent / service charges are reviewed will be set out in the tenancy agreement.

 

If you require support filling in the Arun District Council housing application form please go to West Sussex Connect Support.

 

 

 

Ford Road Development

 

What affordable housing will be included within the Ford Road development?

The development will include 27 Affordable Homes in total: 20 homes that will be available to rent, and 7 available with shared ownership. ACLT is seeking to acquire the 20 affordable rented homes only, in partnership with our Registered Provider (RP) partner, Aster. The Shared Ownership homes will be provided directly by the RP. 

 

When will the development be completed?

Arundel CLT will endeavour to provide up to date information from the Norfolk Estate and their agent Savills on our Ford Road page. Construction started in 2023, with the first affordable homes being available in late 2025, and completion of all construction by the end of 2026 (information as of October 2023).

 

How can I express interest in an affordable home on the Ford Road site?

See the Ford Road page.

 

I have ties to Arundel, will priority be given to those with connections to the town?

We worked with Arun DC on a 'Local Lettings Plan' which will apply to the rental homes which will favour those with ties to Arundel. The shared ownership homes will be provided by Aster, our Registered Provider, within the national rules for shared ownership wil also give priority to those with local connections.

 

Why are new homes planned for Arundel?

As with all towns, Arundel Town Council was asked to identify sites for housing development, and in Arundel this was done though the Neighbourhood Plan process.  To not respond would have opened up the path to losing control of those decisions and loss of influence over the location, type and size of the development.  By following the Neighbourhood Plan process Arundel Town Council was able to reduce the number of planned houses from just under 300 to 90, and through the commitment to work with the CLT on the development we have secured 27 affordable homes with priority to people with Arundel connections.

 

Why the land off Ford Road?

This was considered within Arundel Town Councils Neighbourhood Plan, however there is a limited number of sites for new housing in Arundel and the Neighbourhood Plan assessed the suitability of these.  We know many are asking why not develop all the brownfield sites first?  The short answer is that many of these are also being developed, but because brownfield sites are more expensive to develop, they will not provide affordable housing.  As a real world example, the new homes to be built on the Old Gas Works site will include no affordable housing.

 

Has the environmental impact been considered?

Although the Ford Road site is currently arable and pastural land, it is possible to, and there is a strong commitment from Norfolk Estate and the CLT to, minimise the impact of the development and advance the biodiversity of the area (more trees, protecting existing hedgerows,  sustainable drainage), alongside new public spaces and improved walking and cycling routes for all to benefit from. 

 

We can see from the history of the housing developments in the 1930s and 1950s around Torton Hill that it is possible to allow the boundary of the historic town and still protect and enjoy all the things we value and enjoy.

 

Why are these houses being built on greenfield land?

This site was allocated by the Arundel Neighbourhood Plan Review 2019. The Arun District Council’s Local Plan sets out the need for housing across the district, and every parish needs to allocate their share of this growth. Arundel is uniquely challenged being surrounded by the South Downs National Park and flood plain, so there are not many places suitable for development.

 

As part of the NP the NP committee consulted on sites put forward by a number of land owners for development. Whilst no site would be ideal, and given a choice they would not have submitted any sites for development, but they had to allocate land for at least 100 new dwellings. The NP Committee was responsible for allocating land that would be sustainable and feasible, but more importantly that would pass referendum of the Arundel electorate.

 

If the development was not carried out as part of an adopted NP, then rogue developers and landowners would develop housing in ways that would be much worse than this, and possibly without the need to provide for the much needed affordable housing.

The scheme will significantly reduce pressure on other sites in Arundel that are much less suitable for development.