Youlgrave Community Land Trust (YCLT) originated as a community group that were keen to get involved in the development of more affordable housing within their village, so they set up as a Community Benefit Society with a board made up of 12 local residents from the parish.

They knew from the beginning that they didn’t want to become a housing provider with the responsibility of developing and managing the homes itself. But instead act as an enabler of affordable housing that could retain control of the location, design, tenure and ensure that the homes remained affordable in perpetuity so that future occupants could benefit from the affordable homes.

To develop the scheme they decided to partner with a local housing association, Peak District Rural Housing Association (PDRHA). YCLT benefited from the expertise of working with an experienced development partner, while PDRHA had the advantage of community support mobilised by the CLT.

YCLT extensively consulted with the village over its plans to meet the housing needs identified in the local authority’s housing needs assessment. They had regular communication with local residents and held community participation days where people were invited to come and discuss the scheme. The local authority supported them with the process and provided grant funding for the homes.

YCLT and PDRHA worked closely together to raise finance and acquire planning permission.  PDRHA also managed the finances of the development, and ongoing lettings and building maintenance, which suited YCLT as this decreased its administrative burden.

PDRHA was able to access a grant from Homes England as a registered provider and build the scheme on behalf of the CLT through its development partner, EMH Group.