Community Land Trust Network’s Post

To succeed, make a start. Make a good start. And remember that empire building is to be avoided by CLTs just as it is by any other model. The intrinsic value of land for nature owned by a CLT is the local community link. People care about what they know and love so it needs to be theirs and feel like theirs. Community Land Trusts spring up precisely because people want to direct their own destiny. Respect that at all times. Respect the local community. Find a source of expertise in rewilding and conservation to help you take care of your land. Lots of help around. Avoid advice that sounds like you need a PhD to follow it. Your local The Wildlife Trusts has brilliant accessible advice. Find innovative allies like Mossy Earth Rewilding Britain for inspiration and support. I declare an interest but I also recommend a presentation from James Hitchcock on our purchase of Pentwyn THE RADNORSHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED Even if you choose a different incorporation at first, consider charitable status too - tends to be more access to conservation funding through charitable status and being a charity gives donors and members more peace of mind. Got a loan? Honour it. Sounds obvious but... Set aside and agreed amount in a separate account each month or year. Get goodwill loan arrangements in writing and your repayment promises in writing too - future Board members will thank you. Find a good land agent to value and negotiate any land purchase - if you can get one on your Board you will be very grateful. Make sure any decision to try and purchase land has unanimous or very large majority support of your Board. One CLT forgot to tell a third of the Board it had called a public meeting and sent out an email to supporters about buying land.... until after the arrangements were made. No. No one was happy. Working with another group to raise the purchase price? Make sure they know the details of the transaction arrangements at the outset - saves confusion and makes the accounting simple. Use good simple accounting software. Protect personal financial details like gold. Start as your donors and the public would expect you to behave - aim for integrity and transparency at all times in all matters. Makes everything easier. Lots of free guidance from the Charity Commission for England and Wales and the FCA, Companies House, etc. And even more from NCVO and the Information Commissioner's Office for GDPR (it's very easy to sort out). Being voluntary doesn't mean being amateur so how CLT Boards operate is key to long term success too. "No one will know" isn't good governance... however often anyone say it. Top Tip for Boards? Never make a decision you wouldn't be prepared to share with your shareholders, members, or the press. If the thought of sharing your decision making publicly makes you uncomfortable then you are making the wrong decision in the wrong way. Craig Bennett Julia Davies

Together with the City of Worcester, BSC Group (BSC) is spearheading the design and creation of two Miyawaki Forests and two Resilient Community Spaces. These projects aim to combat extreme heat, flooding, and air quality issues, and to promote social justice by building climate resilience for the city's most vulnerable populations. In collaboration with Bio4Climate, a leader in the Miyawaki planting method, BSC is deploying these innovative green infrastructures in areas identified as environmental justice zones—predominantly low-income, racially diverse communities with limited English proficiency, situated in urban heat islands with sparse tree coverage and extensive concrete surfaces. Heather Gould, AICP, the lead project manager at BSC, underscores the deliberate choice of these locations to maximize impact where it is most needed.🌍💚 Biodiversity for a Livable Climate #MiyawakiForests #Worcester #CommunityPlanting #UrbanForestry #SustainableCities #GreenWorcester #NatureHeals #PlantingForTheFuture #Volunteers #Bio4Climate #CityOfWorcester

If you work in planning, you'll probably know all about the new biodiversity net gain requirements for property developments 🏗️ But do you know the details on how the statutory rules will impact affordable housing? 🤔 Get the lowdown in Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP's latest article ▶️ https://ow.ly/cGSS50RN2MV #BNG #BiodiversityNetGain #PlanningLaw #UKPlanning #AffordableHousing Julia Thomson | James Clark

Biodiversity Net Gain (#BNG) comes into effect from today, 12 February 2024. This means that all major developments in England requiring planning permission, (unless falling under one of the limited exemptions), will now have to demonstrate delivery of net gains in #biodiversity. In the context of residential development, this applies to schemes of 10 dwellings or more, so this isn’t solely reserved for the huge developments delivered by national house builders - it is going to impact local smaller-scale developers too. Great news for the bees 🐝, but what does this mean for builders? With many unknowns at the moment, it will be interesting to see how BNG policy actually operates in practice in the weeks and months to come. #commercialproperty #development #residentialdevelopment #developers #landowners #environment

Treemendous News 🌳🌳🌳 Last Tuesday the Bassendean Council unanimously voted to adopt a Tree Retention Local Planning Policy. This means that on zoned land in the Town of Bassendean development approval will now be required for the removal of a large tree. In doing this the Bassendean Council has recognised that achieving its 30% canopy target, as well as maintaining a connected tree canopy across the area, cannot be accomplished without the preservation of mature trees on private property.  After all, we know that this is where 80% of canopy loss in Perth is happening. The Admin's report indicates that in most cases it is considered that a balance between development and tree retention can be achieved. But the Town intends to take a pragmatic approach to development applications where a regulated tree prohibits the site from being developed for a dwelling (e.g. if the regulated tree is located in the centre of the site). This is sensible, this is what happens in other States and this is what WATCA - WA Tree Canopy Advocates is calling for. Well done Bassendean Council, this is leadership and a huge win for your community, now and into the future. #treeprotection #treeretention #treecanopy #canopycrisis #Bassendean #leadership #sustainablecities #liveablecities #healthycities #urbanheatisland #WATCA #votetrees #climatechangemitigation #climatechangeadaptation

In the first year of an urban agriculture amenity a diverse set of activities take place. From planning, to rendering visions, to putting many new plants in the ground it is a careful burst of activity. By year 2 some patterns begin to emerge. Some plant arrangements are obviously thriving, passionate community members have stepped forward, infrastructure investments are settling into place and having their kinks ironed out. In year 3 and beyond is where we start to see a big spike in food production and community engagement. The work of the previous two years is the activation energy for a new level of sustainability and abundance. #greeninfrastructure #community #amenity #urbanagriculture

The TREES Act is a legislative initiative aimed at promoting tree planting in urban communities. Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020, it seeks to create a federal program that would plant at least 300,000 trees annually, particularly in underserved areas where trees are scarce. These trees would improve air quality, combat heat islands, and create healthier communities. The program would be administered by the U.S. Department of Energy and funded at $50 million annually through 2026, distributed as grants to various organizations for tree planting on public and private land. Additionally, some states have their own versions of the TREES Act, such as New York, which aims to prevent tropical deforestation by restricting the use of tropical hardwoods in government projects.

£49,000??? A small site earmarked for just three bungalows, with two conifer trees, has been assessed for biodiversity net gain (BNG) compliance. The cost for removing these two trees? An astounding £49,000. The alternative? Planting 97 trees off-site. But here's the kicker - these trees must be monitored every 5 years for a total of 30 years through a management company. This is a real-life example and not an isolated incident. CPRE The countryside charity and the Federation of Master Builders jointly hosted a panel at the Labour Party Conference, looking at the challenges facing SME housebuilders. I really hope they covered BNG. The new BNG requirements, which came into force on February 12 for major sites and April 2 for small sites, are hitting SMEs disproportionately hard. What that means is that surplus land that could have been developed for much-needed housing may now lie dormant. The costs of consultations and long-term covenants are becoming prohibitive for smaller firms. Even sites with minimal existing vegetation face huge compensation and replanting costs. While larger firms have always accommodated green enhancements, SME housebuilders - the backbone of our industry - are being pushed to the brink. The complexity of the process, the need for specialised ecological expertise, and the financial burden are creating an unsustainable environment for small builders. We're not against environmental protection - far from it. The construction industry largely embraces its social responsibility. But we need a more balanced approach that doesn't sacrifice the viability of SMEs – the vast majority of which won’t have £49k down the back of the sofa!

"Carbon cowboys" pocket millions at the cost of local communities and the environment. Despite claims of #climate and social benefits, many #carboncredits projects fail to deliver tangible results on the ground, in terms of forest conservation / restoration and community development. To foster transparency and accountability in carbon #offsetting projects, developers must disclose comprehensive financial, carbon, and forest impact details over both short and long terms. Cultivating partnerships with local communities is essential, empowering them to participate in decision-making processes and ensuring fair distribution of funds. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are needed to accurately assess the real-world impact of projects, guaranteeing that revenues effectively support both conservation efforts and community development initiatives. https://lnkd.in/eCu4tGBE

This is the future of trail development. In southwestern York County, we're constructing a section of the Hanover Trolley Trail while restoring the floodplain of adjacent Oil Creek to its natural state, as it existed before agriculture and industrial use began manipulating its flow two centuries ago. The result will be a flood-resilient and stabilized rail trail corridor AND improved water quality with reduced sediment and nutrient loads downstream (which benefits our local watershed as well as the Chesapeake Bay). The project also enhances habitats for fish and invertebrates and will promote long-term ecological diversity. Is it a trail project or a water quality project? Both! Are we using trail and recreation funding or are we using stream restoration funding? Both! (Plus some private foundation funding and economic development funding!) These types of projects with layered benefits aren't just the right thing to do for the environment, they are also pragmatic in terms of attracting and leveraging funding for outdoor recreation assets. 📷 Aquatic Resource Restoration Company (ARRC)