Community Land Trust

Hills Avenue Development

A very large crane prepares to lift the first modular home into place.

UPDATE OCTOBER 2024

The It Takes A City Community Land Trust (ITAC CLT) are delighted to announce that our first four modular homes were delivered to Joy’s Corner last Sunday.

Preparations began at 7am, with the various road plates and roadways needed to protect the surfaces being set out. The (very large) crane arrived at 8.45am, with the first home arriving from New Meaning Foundation’s (NMF) Waterbeach facility at 10:30. The day went smoothly, with all four homes being in position by 2pm.

Credit is due to many organisations and individuals for their professionalism and dedication. New Meaning Foundation for building the homes, Welch Group for delivering them to the site, Breheny for preparing the site, building site infrastructure and putting in all the services, Carter Jonas for getting us through planning, Bidwells for project management, Archangel for site design and documentation and getting us through building regulations, Stantec for designing the water and drainage schemes, Munro for designing and implementing site-wide electrical and water services, CB3 for advice on contracts and costings, Ligna for advice on trees, tree protection and for the soft landscaping scheme design, MKA for ecological assessments. We are very grateful to them all.

The homes are not quite ready for occupation yet. NMF will install external fittings including verandas this week. Connecting each unit to services will also be done. Landscaping work will then be undertaken and homes equipped to make them ready for the first residents.

About Us

Photo of modular homes that were sited in another location.

Our Vision

To ensure that everyone that is homeless has somewhere to call home.

Mission

Create micro-communities of small homes, with flexible support that ensures residents thrive, not just survive.

What we do

Initially, we are focused on the use of temporary land, not yet in use for housing, to develop small schemes using off-site built relocatable modular homes. Homes are small, fully equipped and self-contained, easy to run, hi-tech and environmentally friendly with a minimum 60-year lifetime.

Once established, we expect to develop schemes on permanent land, either owned / long-term leased, or hybrid schemes alongside traditional social housing in partnership with a developer.

Our first site will feature four modular homes, located on a site owned by Cambridge City Council and built by New Meaning Foundation. We are exploring further sites with other major landowners. Funding comes from donations, grants and social investors who can receive a modest return on their investment.

Who we are

ITAC CLT was incorporated by It Takes a City in July 2020 as an exempt charity registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 as a Community Benefit Society. Registration number 8427. Registered Address: 78 Hinton Way, Great Shelford, Cambridge, CB22 5AL. Recognised as a Charity by HMRC, no. ZD11353.

The current Directors/Trustees are Chris Jenkin (Chair), Rebecca Howard, Martin Clark, Bob Ensch, and David Glover.

New Meaning Foundation staff in warehouse making modular homes

Members

ITAC CLT is a membership organisation, with the Board elected from among the membership at the Annual General Meeting. Members are also our advocates and supporters, acting in the best interests of the CLT at all times, connecting us with communities, partners, influencers and funders.

We’d like you to sign up and join – it only costs £1. Your £1 could help a rough sleeper have somewhere to call home.

Please see our Membership Policy for more details and the Application Form which you can complete.

Email us at membership@itacclt.org.uk for more details.

We are seeking Members from across the community.

New Meaning Foundation staff using crane to load modular home onto low loader

Finance

We are financed by the generosity and kindness of local people in the form of:

Grants, from local charities and trusts
Donations, which can be gift-aided. Please use our Gift Aid form
Shares, that are issued from time to time to fund specific schemes and cost £1 each. The first £1 invested purchases a Membership Share and the investor will become a Member of the CLT.
Loans

Please contact us if you would like to know more.

Finance typically covers:

General business costs – £5,000 to £10,000 per annum
Site infrastructure and utilities – £100,000 to £150,000
Modular homes – c. £60,000 each
Equipping the homes – c.3,000 each

John and Nick from New Meaning Foundation outside some modular homes that were built for another site

Partners

ITAC CLT is a community effort, buoyed by support not just from donors and investors but by the professional support of trade partners, many of whom give their expertise at no cost.

We especially thank LandAid, the national property charity, for their help in this:

Planning/Design: Carter Jonas, MKA Ecology, Ligna Consultancy, Archangel Architects

Engineering/Construction: Stantec, Munro, Breheny

Project Management: Bidwells, CB3

Homes: New Meaning Foundation, Allia Impact.

Marketing and fund raising: It Takes a City

Legal: HCR Hewitsons

Please contact us if you can offer any help.

Keeping In Touch

We aim to publish a regular newsletter giving details of schemes as they progress, funding needs, other developments, etc. in addition to announcements via the local media and social networks. Please contact us if you would like to know more details.