Image of the town of IlfracombeWe want to create beautiful spaces, places and homes for Ilfracombe

The purpose of Ilfracombe Community Land Trust is to create affordable, secure homes for local people to rent with confidence. These become locally owned assets that can serve the Ilfracombe community for good.

We are a community-led group composed of local individuals.

In contrast to a property developer a Community Land Trust is a non-profit organisation run by local people to benefit the community they are part of.

You can play a role

Community Land Trusts depend on local individuals and groups getting involved and lending their opinions, skills and abilities – and everyone’s voice matters.

We have exciting news!

With the legal contracts now signed off and a contractor appointed, we will have a “start-on-site” to celebrate within the next few weeks.  Poltair, a local construction company that specialises in social housing developments, will be putting spades in the ground from March 16th, 2026.

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Latest News

  • Bicclescombe Builders

    A photograph of the various team embers sitting in a circleBuilding Relationships - members of the ICLT meet with representatives of the project teams.

    On Monday, 2nd March, members of the ICLT board met with representatives from Poltair Construction, Gates Consultancy – a firm managing the project, and Aster Housing Group, who will manage the development upon its completion in early summer 2027.

    A great benefit of Poltair being a local firm is that they are already very familiar with the site itself, aware of the challenges it poses, and aware of the rewards it will offer tenants when they arrive.  They are well-acquainted with the practicalities they must navigate to complete the build, and, being a local firm, they are well connected to the supply chain of materials and tradespeople they will need.

  • Contracts signed for the Bicclescombe Site.

    An image of two people inspecting a contract document prior to signature.Not such a grey day!

    On a grey February Saturday afternoon, upon our Treasurer’s dining table sat some 112 pages of a freshly couriered contract for our signature.  Which felt a bit inauspicious considering the years of conversations and project meetings and site visits and negotiations and planning applications as well as bat mitigations between ourselves, North Devon Council, Aster Housing Group, with help from consultants at Middlemarch, Gates and many other agencies – just a couple of squiggles with a black biro and back in the envelope for delivery to our lawyers. Despite the pragmatic austerity of the event, it marks a significant milestone in the journey from overgrown, brambled dereliction to thriving and beautiful community life.

    Read more: Contracts signed for the Bicclescombe Site.