Setting Foundations - impressions from the first site visit with Poltair
With construction work finally beginning on the Bicclescombe Nursery site, it seems an opportune moment to reflect on the journey that the Ilfracombe Community Land Trust has undergone since its inception. The hope is that we can learn from our experience, share with others, and hopefully find more land to begin another project providing affordable social housing for our community.
The idea of a Community Land Trust began about 6 years ago after a visit to Ilfracombe Town Council by Middlemarch, which is a ‘not for profit’ organisation providing support for community-led housing groups. Ilfracombe already had a deficit of decent, affordable rented housing, with much accommodation being Victorian, in the hands of private landlords and in poor repair. The determination to form a Land Trust for Ilfracombe began, and our first hurdle was organising interest during a pandemic! The initial meeting was online, but amazingly, from that beginning, we were able to recruit a dedicated group of people (added to along the way) who were determined to see this project through. Every Board member recognised the need for decent housing to enable local people to live secure and healthy lives. The COVID pandemic exacerbated the housing situation in Ilfracombe, with landlords flipping properties to Airbnb to cash in on the staycation boom, whilst property prices soared and rents increased.
The urgency of the situation was foremost in Board members' minds; however, the process of turning an idea into reality in development is incredibly slow. I won't bore readers with the sometimes torturous process, but I will highlight some of the difficulties and many of the positives which made this project a success.
Positives first!
- A really strong team of dedicated volunteer Board members from different backgrounds who were committed to achieving an outcome.
- The support of the local community. Although obviously there are always concerns when development is proposed, on the whole, our residents have been behind us at every step.
- Having local Councillors on the Board supporting us meant that they were able to ask questions about the District Council land at Bicclescombe Nursery, develop a partnership, and turn that land into a social housing development.
- The support of North Devon Council officers who were committed to making this project succeed. This included everyone from Estates, to the housing team, legals and everyone in between.
- Great professionals who have been involved along the way. Our Architects, Gates Construction, who have managed the project build, Aster Housing, who are our Housing Association partners and have been so on the ball at every step, our construction company Poltair, who share our vision around the design and build, and of course Middlemarch's Steve Watson and Alison Ward, without whom this development would never have been achieved.
I'll call them difficulties, rather than negatives, but some of the obstacles we have had to overcome along the way have included;
- Our lack of knowledge about almost every part of the process of starting a Land Trust, finding land, working with partners, the logistics of development and the complexity. I want to think Board members are semi-experts after years of attending multitudinous meetings, but there are many aspects where we have to be led by the experts, from bats to ground surveys.
- The length of the process. I think, naively, most Land Trusts begin with the enthusiasm that things will happen quickly. It becomes obvious early in the process that this is not the case. Finding suitable, affordable land that the landowner is willing to sell at a reduced price to draw down Government funding is the biggest problem most Land Trusts face. Getting planning permission for that land is the next issue. Many pieces of land are not desirable development plots and therefore have issues with viability, contamination, and the installation of services such as water. We were incredibly lucky, but other local Land Trusts that started before us have yet to secure land.
- Frustration at the amount of bureaucratic and legal hurdles to overcome when planning a development. Rightfully, this includes environmental requirements, but at times these have delayed the project and added costs, which felt like they might derail the build altogether.
Now that 16 homes are being built in a beautiful setting, close to Town, with a good mix of one-, two-, and three-bed units, we can reflect on how we achieved this. The build will be completed by May 2027 if all goes to plan, but there is always an opportunity to do more. We hope that some of you might be interested in standing for the Board in the future, especially if you have skills in housing, building, accountancy, or ecology.
I appreciate your support, and let's keep building affordable housing for the people of our Town.
Terry Elliott
