European Community Land Trust Network

🚀 World Habitat at the Digital Citymakers' Summit: Empowering Communities through Housing Innovation 🏘️ We’re proud to introduce our next Parallel Network Session: “Mainstreaming and Institutionalising Community-Led Housing: A Pathway to Inclusive Cities” – hosted by World Habitat . 🌟 What to Expect: As the financialization of housing continues to drive prices up and affordability down, community-led (CHL) housing models are offering a compelling alternative — one rooted in long-term inclusion, ownership, and resilience. But despite their potential, CLH initiatives face barriers to mainstream adoption due to policy gaps and limited access to funding, land, and institutional support. This session explores how to overcome these challenges: 🔹 How can cities and governments harness existing policy levers to support CLH? 🔹 What does it take to institutionalize community power in housing? 🔹 Where are CLH movements already creating lasting structural change? Meet the Speakers: 🎤 Abi Stoltzfus – Programme Manager, World Habitat Abigail leads the World Habitat Awards and works at the intersection of affordable housing, land rights, climate action, and community empowerment. With global experience and a strong background in urban planning and governance, she brings a holistic lens to the challenges of inclusive housing. 🎤 Laura Parker-Tong – Head of Strategy and Development, European Community Land Trust Network Laura drives forward community land ownership across Europe. With experience spanning government funding programs, economic policy, and urban development, she brings deep insight into how systemic change can be achieved across sectors to make inclusive housing a reality. 📌 This is one of five Parallel Network Sessions at the Digital Citymakers’ Summit. We'll be introducing the other sessions and their speakers over the coming weeks – stay tuned! 👀 📢 Don’t miss this session! Find more details and the registration link in the comments. ⬇️ #CommunityLedHousing #WorldHabitat #InclusiveCities #DigitalCitymakersSummit #DCS2025 #UrbanSustainabilityExchange

👏 Fantastic news from the UK where the Government has launched £20mn investment in community-led housing. This will compliment the wider £2bn Affordable Homes programme for new social and affordable homes and also help community-led projects to access these wider grants. The funding will go via Resonance Limited's Community Developers social finance fund. The Community Land Trust Network has been advocating for this. As Chief Executive, Tom Chance, is quoted in the press release: “This investment will be welcomed by hundreds of communities working to build thousands of much-needed homes, from tourist hotspots where local are priced out to city neighbourhoods blighted by a lack of investment. Community-led development offers local people a tool to be builders rather than blockers.”

👥 Connection and exchange from one CLT to another... read here for Hannah Emery-Wright's - former community manager at London CLT -personal account of her trip to La Borda in Barcelona. It's an excellent example of public-cooperative collaboration to deliver net zero community-led housing!

Some good news to end the week! Delighted that the South of Scotland Community Housing team won the "Outstanding Contribution" award at this year's Scottish Empty Homes Awards. Working in support of community organisations, the team has shown great commitment to prioritising the retrofit and reuse of long-term empty homes and buildings to provide much needed locally affordable homes in community ownership. Thanks to everyone who has worked in partnership with SOSCH to help enable delivery and Scottish Empty Homes Partnership. Evie Copland CIHCM Annabel Pidgeon Jennifer Challinor Jamie Little Donna Bogdanovic CIHCM Jane Morrison-Ross Garry Legg Dumfries and Galloway Council Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway Borders Community Action Gary Hartin Sam Stewart Brian Robson lisa Bullen Paul McLennan European Community Land Trust Network Community Land Scotland John Gilbert Architects Collective Architecture Hazel Smith Midsteeple Quarter Chris Dalglish Morgan Eller M.Sc. Caroline Part Madhu Satsangi Tahmina Nizam Homes for Good Susan Aktemel Oak Foundation Nationwide Foundation

🟢 Hastings Commons wins Gold at the World Habitat Awards further strengthening recognition for Community Land Trusts Hastings Commons’ Gold World Habitat Award builds on much recent recognition of the impact of Community Land Trusts. From UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) to the European Union, CLTs are gaining prominence, featured in global reports, highlighted as best practice, and endorsed by key institutions. Policymakers across Europe - take note! CLTs offer a community-led approach to deliver much needed housing supply whilst prioritising long-term affordability and sustainability. “Ensuring access to social and affordable housing for vulnerable people is a priority. Community-based innovative initiatives, like the Brussels Community Land Trust Calico project, are an example of how to achieve this while strengthening local communities. ” Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion at the European Commission, following his recent visit the Calico CLT project in Brussels. 🏡 Read more about the visit here: https://lnkd.in/eWD69wJm 📖 Find out more in ECLTN’s News & Insights: https://lnkd.in/eDuFQfTA

🎬Bravo to our Irish member Self Organised Architecture for their film -Reimagining Elderhood - diving into ageing, architecture and community. - What kind of places do we need to live well as we age, and how can our neighbourhoods be adapted to support ageing well? - Can we take steps in mid-life to imagine the places we’d like to live in as we age, and to work together to create them? - How can architects be ‘agents of change’ and facilitators of new approaches and thinking about how we live? ▶️ Watch the full film now on their website now: https://lnkd.in/eAAytxyX

Through the Upcycling Trust project, European CLTs are working together to support energy renovation while safeguarding access to affordable housing. Attend the project's conference to discover the Upcycling Trust model and learn how policymakers and practitioners can scale up innovative local solutions for housing affordability and energy poverty. More information and registration below!

Community-led housing is part of the solution to the housing crisis. Ireland is currently looking at different models, including #CommunityLandTrusts, to promote permanent affordability in housing. Cork Community Land Trust is pioneering this model and will become an inspiration to other community-led initiatives across Europe. European Community Land Trust Network International Center for Community Land Trusts Housing Europe

[Conference] Upcycling Trust - an innovative solution to support energy renovation while safeguarding access to affordable housing 1st April, 14:00-17:00 Ghent, City Hall  Full speaker lineup to be announced soon! 📅 Registrations: https://lnkd.in/ejDnygbY 👉 More infos: https://lnkd.in/e2pfNuuG Upcycling Trust partners: Community Land Trust CLT Gent, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Self Organised Architecture, Cork Community Land Trust, Cork City Council - Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí, Rennes Ville et Métropole, HABITER2030, Ville de Lille, Lille Métropole Habitat, Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL) The Upcycling Trust project is financed by the Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) programme of the European Union.

Last Thursday we held a session exploring Community-led housing and placemaking in New Towns alongside UK Cohousing Network and Nationwide Foundation. This brought together a cross-sector group of community housing enablers, developers, planners, designers, Homes England and government officials to craft a clear vision and actionable recommendations for the New Towns Taskforce, ensuring community-led housing plays a central role in national policy. This session and its recommendations will feed into a paper that we will publish in the spring all about Community-led Stewardship in New Towns. In the meantime, read our recent research about Community-led place stewardship on large development sites (with Dark Matter Labs and European Community Land Trust Network) https://lnkd.in/eZXziCkH This event runs alongside our continual lobbying and policy work to make sure that CLTs and other kinds of community-led development and stewardship projects have the support, funding, planning and regulatory reforms needed to significantly contribute to our government's ambitious housing targets. Take a look at our proposals here: https://lnkd.in/eK23VBPu Thank you to everyone who joined us, and especially to our partners who co-organised this event with us including Owen Jarvis and Steve Lee, Coin Street for hosting us in their iconic community space, all our speakers, and Nationwide Foundation for their continued support and generosity. Considerate Urbanism JTP LLP THE URBED Trust Urban&Civic Summix Vistry Group Welbeck Land Limited Stories Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Legal & General Resonance Investments, LLC Local Trust Locality Plunkett UK Power to Change Wrigleys Solicitors Anthony Collins community led housing london Community Stewardship Solutions Middlemarch Community Led Housing CIC Chichester Community Development Trust