Community Land Trusts

[Thinking Man's Idiot]

ConsultationWatch

(Sunday 30 November 2008)



ANDREW FISHER works his way through some confused consultation plans on the role of community land trusts.



THE government is consulting on the role for community land trusts (CLTs) in delivering its target "to provide 240,000 more homes a year in England by 2016."

It states that CLTs have a role to play in meeting this target.


The origins of CLTs can be traced back to the Chartists and the struggle for land reform.


The aims of the movement were "to purchase land in order to demonstrate to the working class the value of land as a means of making them independent of the grinding capitalist."


Despite the invocation of such a radical tradition, the government seeks to co-opt CLTs rather than to rekindle any revolutionary verve.
The consultation document sets out its goal to "help more people to own their own home."


The government then makes the bizarre statement that home ownership "not only enables them to achieve their aspirations but also helps to meet additional objectives such as improving public services."


As with foundation hospitals, the government is seeking to subvert co-operative terminology with CLTs. The document sets out a role for CLTs to be little more than providers of shared equity and part ownership schemes, much like any housing association.


CLTs are supposed to be bolstered through the Community Land Trust Fund, with £2 million of loan funding on offer to develop CLTs, which makes them rather insignificant when the government has already stated that it is investing £8.4 billion in housing over the next three years.


The £2 million fund drop in the housing need ocean will be unattractive since "interest on such loans will be charged at a rate that will cover administrative costs, plus an element of profit to enable the fund to increase."


What is becoming increasingly clear is that the government is prepared to try any method except the most economically efficient - council housing.


Nevertheless there are opportunities and all socialists should be banding together locally to establish their own CLT.

A CLT must:

• Provide a benefit to the local community;
• Ensure that the assets are not sold or developed except in a manner which the trust's members think benefits the local community;

A CLT must also ensure that:

• Any profits from its activities will be used to benefit the local community;
• Individuals who live or work in the specified area have the opportunity to become members of the trust;
• The members of the trust control it.

Once established, CLTs will be prime candidates to be offered public assets, which will be transferred by the soon-to-be-established asset transfer unit.


The consultation states that the government is currently reviewing the structures "to enable CLTs to successfully manage and own public assets."


However, socialists should not get too excited - the asset transfer unit "will promote and support an increase in asset transfer ... through the promotion of public-private/third sector partnerships."


This rather confused consultation document can be downloaded from the Department for Communities website and the deadline for responses is December 31.

Andrew Fisher is co-ordinator of ConsultationWatch.

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