A review of the Community Housing Fund has been published, finding that there was a significant increase in community led housing as a result of the programme
The Community Land Trust Network, with aid from the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government, and Homes England, have published a review of the Community Housing Fund.
The Community Housing Fund supported community land trusts, cohousing communities, and housing co-operatives. The primary purpose was to give grants for securing sites and planning consents, allowing projects to access mainstream financing.
The fund closed in 2022.
The Community Housing Fund was effective
The review found that the fund was effective at speeding up the creation of housing, particularly social housing.
The reviews key findings include:
- At least 4,222 homes came forward, 913 built or under construction, and most of the remainder have sites and planning permission secured. Nine out of ten are affordable homes, including social or affordable rent, and many are in sensitive locations such as national parks or small infill sites.
- More projects used Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and offered self/custom-build options than average. This shows the Community Housing Fund brought more sustainable and innovative approaches
- The failure rate was just 5%, meaning the fund had a high success rate, and that small grants enabled projects to access mainstream funding, and completed projects providing high value for money.
The review recommends a similar fund in the future
Tom Chance, CEO of the Community Land Trust Network, said: “This review shows that the government can stimulate more social housebuilding at a low cost by backing community led housing. It can also diversify the housebuilding industry, which is needed to achieve the target of 1.5 million homes by the end of this parliament.
“With planning reform and a small investment in the autumn statement Labour has the potential to unleash a movement that provides additional housing, boosts community cohesion and strengthens the co-operative economy. It’s time to rewire the system.”
