Trade body for CLTs is planned
A trade body for community land trusts (CLTs) is to be established.
A full-time development officer will be appointed in spring 2010 to look at how such an organisation could work.
The Carnegie Trust and Community Finance Solutions, a think tank at Salford University, have been awarded joint funding from DCLG’s Empowerment Fund to improve the infrastructure of the CLT movement, including the creation of a trade body.
Speaking at New Start's CLT conference in London, Bob Paterson, co-founder and project director at Community Finance Solutions, said that a trade body would help make the community land trusts movement a ‘mature sector'.
A consultation of the sector has been launched to assess the best model for a CLT trade body.
Mr Paterson said it could work either as an independent organisation or allied to another body, such as the Development Trusts Association.
The consultation is seeking expressions of interest from relevant bodies.
Mr Paterson said it is vital is to ensure the breadth and depth of knowledge needed to create and develop CLTs is brought together.
Community Finance Solutions and Carnegie Trust have been awarded £500,000 over three years from DCLG.
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