Solva Community Land Trust
The Solva Community Land Trust (Solva CLT) was established in 2019 with the intention of establishing a long-term community housing project in Solva. The housing will help to provide genuinely affordable housing for current residents and future generations for the communities of Solva and Brawdy. Solva CLT will safeguard these dwellings and maintain them in partnership with a not-for-profit housing association.
Our project partners include Pembrokeshire County Council, PLANED (who administer the LEADER-funded Pembrokeshire Community Land Trust project) and housing association ateb.
Our vision is to build environmentally low-impact housing – ideally net zero carbon – allowing for the most up-to-date technologies to be utilised in both the build and ongoing use of the properties. We are keen to utilise renewable energy resources to develop a truly green solution which would allow the project to offset running costs and provide lower rental costs.
What are Community Land Trusts?
Community Land Trusts are set up and run by ordinary people to develop and manage homes as well as other community assets. CLTs act as long-term stewards, ensuring that housing remains genuinely affordable, not just now but in the future too.
In Solva’s case, around £3m has been allocated by Pembrokeshire County Council to the Trust from the Second Home Premium’ which is levied on Council Tax bills. This means that the community can determine what housing goes there and who will be eligible to occupy the new homes. Consultations have been held and a questionnaire was circulated in May 2020 – see the news item below for the results.
A background to the project
The electoral ward of Solva and Brawdy has been identified as an area requiring additional residential housing due to the high number of second homes and holiday lets within the community leading to a limited amount of affordable rented accommodation and long-term housing opportunities.
Working in partnership with Pembrokeshire County Council, Solva Community Council sought to establish its own CLT to deliver affordable community housing. An interim Board was established comprising four founder members. The interim Board has been assisted by other people in the early stages of the project to get the CLT off the ground, including PLANED.
A number of workshops were run in Solva in order to better understand housing needs in the area. The information gathered is being supplemented with a survey to further ascertain the expressed needs of the community. 141 people completed the survey – see the News post below for more details.
A site was identified early on – the football field opposite Bay View Stores – which has long been the focus of a potential development in the village.
In October 2020, Pembrokeshire County Council voted to release the grant to enable the scheme to proceed. Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet on 11 January considered the responses to the public consultation in 2020 and unanimously approved the disposal of the land, allowing the project to proceed.
You can join the SCLT by downloading a form or getting one from Bay View Store – it only costs a pound!
Solva CLT news
Solva CLT Update
The work on the SCLT continues with regular meetings being held with Pembrokeshire County Council and our other partners. The next step is to get the business case approved by PCC so that the Welsh Government can approve the grant funding. This hopefully will be done...
CLT Survey Results
The Solva CLT Survey was conducted over a period of 3 weeks in April and May. There was an excellent response rate with a total of 141 completed surveys. 87% of all respondents were full time residents of Solva or Brawdy. The results showed a clear need for affordable...
Solva CLT Online Questionnaire
Because of the pandemic, our questionnaire had to switch to an online process. So far 125 people have completed the survey with the great majority saying that they think it’s a good idea to build affordable housing in the village. Over 30 people are interested in...
Solva CLT Secure Additional £50,000
PCC recently awarded the affordable housing project an additional £50,000. Taken from the Housing Need element of Pembrokeshire County Council's Second Home Council Tax Levy, it will allow the project to continue. The funding award will run from 1 June 2020 to 31...
Housing Needs Survey Closes Soon
Solva Community Land Trust's online survey needs to hear from you! If you would like to express your views, and interest in, this exciting project, please complete the confidential survey: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/SolvaCLT2020/ Image...
Our survey has been published!
Did you know that the electoral ward of Solva and Brawdy has been identified by Pembrokeshire County Council as an area in need of housing? And that a Community Land Trust, called Solva CLT, has been set up by Solva Community Council to take a community housing...
“Solva Community Land Trust was set up to create suitable and affordable housing for the communities of Solva and Brawdy. Housing is a very important part of wellbeing and the sustainability of rural communities. Solva CLT will steer this exciting project and ensure that local people born and brought up here can stay and live in the community, now and in the future”
Sue Denman, Founding Chair of Solva CLT
First General Meeting
The first General Meeting of the CLT was held on 18 November 2020 and the minutes are available to download.
Who we are
Our Board is made up of Josh Philips (chair), Heidi Holland (vice chair), Patrick Nash (treasurer) second from the left, Rachel Lewis (secretary), Colin Reynolds (membership secretary), Ifor Thomas third from the left, Jackie Young, Mark Carter, Bethan Stephens, Jamie King, Rob Jones and Mollie Roach.
Jo Rees-Wigmore (PLANED) who has helped us set up the CLT, is standing next to Sue. The picture was taken at Tŷ Solar.
Contact us
If you would like to contact Solva Community Land Trust, you can do so:
By email on solvaclt@gmail.com
By telephoning the 07900 241774
By filling in the website contact form
