Community homes must be affordable forever

Windsor Ascot Maidenhead Community Land Trust (WAMCLT) has submitted its response to RBWM’s Housing Strategy.

The strategy is out for public consultation (closing February 3), before it is presented to RBWM Cabinet on February 25.

For RBWM’s strategy, see https://rbwm.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=132&MId=7768.

For WAMCLT’s response, see our Newsletter and website www.wamclt.org.

You will see that we support RBWM’s aims and hope to persuade them that we can help them to deliver the range of homes that are needed at this time of dire housing shortage, particularly of quality affordable and sustainable homes for this and succeeding generations.

You could help, by reading our response and bringing it to the attention of your local councillor.

We note a letter to the Windsor Express of December 4 from lead for housing, Cllr Ross McWilliams, in which he alerts readers to the plans for public consultation over RBWM Housing Strategy.

He comments laudably that we cannot see homes as simply financial assets, but as the building blocks of a strong society.

One of the aims is to enable sufficient social housing to give rough sleepers a second chance.

He wants our housing market to productively support a wide range of residents with a mixture of different homes with a mixture of affordability.

Our Community Land Trust supports these aims and will be happy to join RBWM in realising them.

One other important advantage in delivery by a Community Land Trust is that homes built on land in CLT ownership are there in perpetuity, so are not subject to ‘right to buy’, or other pressures leading to reduction of housing supply.

This is because if subject to Right to Buy, houses can be bought and sold for profit, so no longer remain affordable, leading to a shortage of truly affordable homes.

So we cater for future generations as well as those in current need. WAMCLT Steering Group