Community-led housing supporters have been told by the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Alok Sharma MP, that the Community Housing Fund, amounting to a further £240million, will be relaunched in January 2018 following its first successful year.
In his speech at the first-ever National Community-Led Housing Conference, hosted by the National Community Land Trust Network and UK Cohousing, on Monday 27 November, Alok Sharma said the fund will help build ‘homes that are not just affordable now, but for ever’ and that community led housing is not only about ‘building better homes’ but also about ‘building better communities’.
From January 2018, groups will be able to apply to Homes England for funding, with allocations announced around April 2018.
Community First Yorkshire has recently won two contracts with Hambleton District Council and Ryedale District Council to promote and support to communities who are interested in developing their own community led housing schemes.
Community First Yorkshire are running free workshops for parish councillors, community groups, land owners and anyone interested in community led housing in Hambleton and Ryedale to find out more about what’s involved and the support available. The first workshop for Hambleton district will be held at Kirby Fleetham Village Hall near Northallerton on 16 January. Book here. Watch Community First Yorkshire’s Chief Executive, Leah Swain, introducing the project here.