A Community-Led Passive Home Development in Seend, Wiltshire
Seend Community Land and Asset Trust is a local initiative, supported by national and local government, that enables Seend Parish residents to access affordable housing and preserve, develop and enhance local assets for their benefit in perpetuity. It is altruistic in nature, run as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company and powered by the people of Seend for the people of Seend. The case study below provides a comprehensive outline of the process undertaken to develop a Community-Led development of 10 affordable passive homes in Seend.
Background
The Parish of Seend has a population of 1,100 people living in 450 households. Seend is classified as a large village, Seend Cleeve is a small village and there are also a few hamlets known as Sells Green, Inmarsh and Seend Head.
Around 2015/16 Seend joined many rural Wiltshire communities in making a Neighbourhood Plan for the parish.
A Neighbourhood Plan working group, consisting of Parish Council members and volunteers, identified a housing shortage and rising house prices which were driving young people out of the parish. While the Plan was seen as a solution, some viewed the housing shortage as a separate issue. Others felt that action on affordable housing was needed before waiting for the Plan.
It was proposed that the Neighbourhood Plan and a Community-Led Housing initiative would run in parallel, with the groups working together and joint public consultation.
As an example of what needed to be addressed is demonstrated by the Census 2021 gaps seen below.
The black lines on the blue bars of the chart represent English national averages. The white gap between the black bar and the end of the blue bar shows the shortage of social and private rented property in Seend.
Percentages in brackets are the English national average figures.
Project Overview
A Community-Led Housing (CLH) group was formed to raise awareness of the Neighbourhood Plan and the need for affordable rented homes for the parish.
A Rural Housing Needs Survey had been undertaken by the Parish Council in 2016 and this was a key document in moving the project along.
A range of rural exception sites were identified but there was only one site available at the right price with a landowner willing to sell. The landowner had been in the parish for a long time and there was an element of altruism in the decision to work with the CLH group. Wiltshire Council assigned a planning officer to provide advice and assistance with the site selection process.
Once the site was identified, potential partner organisations such as housing providers and architects were consulted. This fed into the viability assessment and overall business plan for the project.
The Community-Led Housing group set about obtaining funding to formally incorporate as a Community Interest Company. Once this work was complete, the group was able to open a bank account and begin the process of fundraising for the project.
It was clear to the Neighbourhood Planning group that there was strong community interest in building community-led homes and the parish population had been given opportunities to understand what the project was about and the benefits for the community. Many local residents subscribed their £1 coin to become a member of the CLT, with over 260 members in 2018.
Seend aerial photograph – Seend CLT
Seend Park Farm Development plans – PKA Architects
Seend Community Land and Asset Trust (Seend CLT) had the invaluable support of Wiltshire Council, Wiltshire Community Land Trust and Community First.
From the outset, the CLT made a clear and socially responsible commitment to build homes to a passive standard, which is better than the standard required by planning regulations.
PKA Architects in Potterne was engaged to provide the design, which was fully publicly consulted on, with building material examples and design concepts presented at village meetings. While there was some opposition to development, open and transparent consultation helped with community ‘buy-in’ and community engagement throughout the process.
The Seend community partnered with White Horse Housing Association, a smaller, local Housing Association based in Melksham, to build the new affordable homes.
White Horse Housing Association purchased the land from the landowner on the condition that once the homes were complete, the land would be sold to Seend Community Land Trust and leased back to the Housing Association for 999 years. Three of the 10 homes would be offered for shared ownership, and the long lease made it easier for purchasers to finance their homes with a mortgage or loan.
The small, perpetual lease payment from the housing association would keep the CLT alive in perpetuity and allow the Community Interest Company to cover its small annual running costs.
There was also an agreement with the landowner that one self-build plot would be provided in the development for a family member to complete to their own design. This was a type of cross-subsidy which was unusual and took some time for the Local Authority to understand and incorporate the arrangement into the Section 106 Agreement.
PH15 factory-built homes under the top hat
Foundations – there is a lot of insulation under the concrete
The design of the homes aimed to eliminate all heat loss (as far as is possible). The homes were factory built of sustainable timber, delivered to the site and erected on a highly insulated pre-prepared base under a ‘top hat’ shelter. This system delivered a rapid build in any weather and kept the materials dry and the builders safe. As the build progressed to wind and watertightness, the top hats were moved to the next block. Seend CLT continued to monitor the building project until completion by attending monthly site meetings.
Construction of the homes began in 2022. After some delays (please see below for key learnings from the project). The Hook Hollow site was completed in late 2024 and formally opened on 24th June 2024, with early occupations of the first completed passive homes in April 2024.
The Hook Hollow site nears completion
The Hook Hollow site – homes 7-10 completed
Key Learnings from the Project
Consider Risk Management – It is important from the outset to ensure all business risks are considered. Experience shows it is impossible to foresee all risks, but good risk analysis will allow the project to survive the unexpected. For this project, the unexpected included the Covid-19 pandemic, economic conditions and issues with the electricity grid. These issues caused delays and additional costs.
Housing Need and Housing Allocation – Projects can take years to complete. Parish housing need at the time ground is first broken may be completely different by the time the ribbon is cut on opening day. The Home Allocation Policy contains a parish cascade clause which ensures that in the event the homes are not needed by a member of the Seend community, they can be offered to inhabitants of nearby rural parishes who are on the local authority waiting list. There are special, more flexible entitlement and allocation policies governing homes provided under CLT/HA arrangements. Some people who were allocated homes had a Seend connection, though they did not live in the parish. It is perfectly equitable that, if the local community does not have a housing need for the type of home on offer at the time of completion, homes should be offered through the Allocations Policy cascade system to a nearby parish.