About the Toolkit

What is this Toolkit about?

This Toolkit is about helping housing professionals scale up the supply of community-led homes to contribute to tackling the nation’s housing problems. It brings together for the first time in one place a comprehensive suite of specialist documentation and advice required to develop and deliver community-led housing (or CLH) schemes.

It provides examples of practical, fundable and deliverable documentation, along with case studies and signposting, to make the development and delivery of CLH more efficient, speedier and easier. It also includes material that puts the growing CLH sector in context, providing an assessment of the business and social cases, and an indicative process map for different types of development.

The Toolkit complements Community-Led Housing: a Key Role for Local Authorities, published by the Co-operative Council’s Innovation Network in January 2018 and available here.

Who is it aimed at?

The Toolkit is aimed primarily at local authorities in England and Wales that are involved, or would like to be involved, in the promotion, support and development of community-led housing as part of their housing strategies. It will also have relevance to housing associations and other stakeholders that are working with local communities on housing delivery.

Although not specifically aimed at community organisations, the Toolkit may also be useful for groups interested in pursuing a community-led housing scheme, providing them with an understanding of the technical requirements and processes involved.

There are several Toolkits and Good Practice Guides aimed specifically at communities and local groups. These include:

• Community Land Trust Handbook : National Community Land Trust Network
• Community-Led Housing Toolkit :  Locality
• New Co-operative and Community-Led Homes :  The Confederation of Co-operative Housing
• The Right to Build Toolkit, by the National Custom and Self Build Association is aimed at self-builders, community organisations, local authorities, housing associations and private developers

What does it cover and how is it organised?

• The Toolkit provides a comprehensive set of guidance on the technical aspects of delivering a community-led housing scheme
• Following an introductory section that explains the context for community-led housing, the Toolkit is divided into five ‘toolboxes’, with 63 sections, covering Housing, Communities, Legal and Governance, Planning and Development, and Finance
• Each toolbox includes a summary of its contents. The tools in each box provide links to further information and, where appropriate, case study snapshots, documents and templates, providing a downloadable set of resources on each subject
• A glossary is included in the Toolkit which covers all the main technical terms used throughout the website and, where appropriate, provides links to further information about each term
• Throughout the Toolkit we have used the abbreviation CLH when referring to community-led housing
• The Toolkit website is easily searchable and accessible. The pages and snapshots are regularly updated and contain documents, links and information to help you get a better understanding of community-led housing
• Information about HACT the Toolkit sponsors can also be found on the About Us pages and you can get in touch with us through a contact form.

Acknowledgements

The Toolkit originated from discussions on Teesside and in Leeds in June 2016 to mark the completion of the Empty Homes Community Grant Programme. There was much discussion there about the potential to improve knowledge and information amongst professionals about the legal, financial, planning and other technical aspects of making community-led housing schemes work. We are grateful to Sally Thomas (ex HACT and now Chief Executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations) and Jon Fitzmaurice (Self Help Housing) for turning this positive interest into a fully-funded HACT project.

The Toolkit was funded primarily by Nationwide Foundation with contributions from Ecology Building Society and LandAid. We would like to thank Gary Hartin, Paul Ellis/Jon Lee and Caroline Fraser respectively for their support, without which the Toolkit would not have seen the light of day.

The Toolkit has been researched and written for HACT by a small team led by Pete Duncan (Social Regeneration Consultants) and including David Alcock (Anthony Collins Solicitors), Jon Fitzmaurice (Self Help Housing) and Simon Underwood (Social Regeneration Consultants).

We would also like to thank John Montes and the Co-operative Council’s Innovation Network, whose report on community led housing was researched and written in parallel with this Toolkit, involving regular liaison.

The team is also particularly grateful to Barry Malki and Meghan Butt from HACT for all their support and input during both the research and writing phases of the Toolkit.

A large number of other people have inputted to the development of the Toolkit, through an Advisory Group and Sounding Board. HACT is particularly grateful to the following people for their input:

Toolkit case studies and where to find them

The following case study snapshots are included in the Toolkit:

Y PECYN CYMORTH

Pecyn Cymorth i beth yw hwn?

Nod y Pecyn Cymorth hwn yw helpu gweithwyr proffesiynol ym maes tai i gynyddu’r cyflenwad o gartrefi a arweinir gan y gymuned, er mwyn cyfrannu at y gwaith o fynd i’r afael â phroblemau tai’r genedl. Mae’n cyfuno cyfres gynhwysfawr o ddogfennau arbenigol a chyngor, sydd eu hangen i ddatblygu a darparu cynlluniau cartrefi a arweinir gan y gymuned (neu CAG), am y tro cyntaf mewn un lle.

Mae’n cynnig enghreifftiau o ddogfennau ymarferol y gellid eu hariannu a’u darparu, yn ogystal â rhoi astudiaethau achos a chyfeirio, er mwyn sicrhau bod y broses o ddatblygu a darparu cartrefi a arweinir gan y gymuned yn fwy effeithlon, yn gyflymach ac yn haws. Hefyd, mae’n cynnwys deunydd sy’n rhoi’r sector cartrefi a arweinir gan y gymuned, sef sector sy’n tyfu, yn ei gyd-destun, gan roi asesiad o’r achosion busnes a chymdeithasol, a map dangosol o’r broses ar gyfer gwahanol fathau o ddatblygiadau.

Mae’r Pecyn Cymorth yn ategu Community-Led Housing: a Key Role for Local Authorities, a gyhoeddwyd gan Rwydwaith Arloesi’r Cynghorau Cydweithredol ym mis Ionawr 2018, ac sydd ar gael ar y wefan.

Ar gyfer pwy mae’r Pecyn Cymorth?

Mae’r Pecyn Cymorth wedi’i anelu’n bennaf at awdurdodau lleol yng Nghymru a Lloegr sy’n ymwneud â hyrwyddo, cefnogi a datblygu cartrefi a arweinir gan y gymuned, neu a fyddai’n hoffi gwneud hynny, fel rhan o’u strategaethau tai. Hefyd, bydd yn berthnasol i gymdeithasau tai a rhanddeiliaid eraill sy’n cydweithio â chymunedau lleol i ddarparu tai.

Er nad yw wedi’i anelu at fudiadau cymunedol yn benodol, gall y Pecyn Cymorth fod yn ddefnyddiol hefyd i grwpiau sydd â diddordeb mewn mynd ar drywydd cynllun cartrefi a arweinir gan y gymuned, gan y bydd yn eu helpu i ddeall y gofynion a’r prosesau technegol sy’n gysylltiedig â hynny.

Mae nifer o Becynnau Cymorth a Chanllawiau Arfer Da sydd wedi’u hanelu’n benodol at gymunedau a grwpiau lleol, gan gynnwys:

• Community Land Trust Handbook: Rhwydwaith Cenedlaethol Ymddiriedolaethau Tir Cymunedol
• Community-Led Housing Toolkit :  Locality
• New Co-opearative and Community-Led Homes:  Cydffederasiwn Tai Cydweithredol
• Mae’r Right to Build Toolkit, gan y National Custom and Self Build Association, wedi’i anelu at hunanadeiladwyr, mudiadau cymunedol, awdurdodau lleol, cymdeithasau tai a datblygwyr preifat.

Last updated in April 2018