- SCATA is a Community Land Trust based in a commuter village in Northumberland. It has its roots in the local Parish Council and specifically a proposal in the 2009 Broomley and Stocksfield Parish Plan to establish a community-led development trust
- The main objective was to create a body that could do things for the village that could not be done by the Parish Council, and to do these things in a way that recycled any surplus for direct community benefit
- A Steering Group was established with two active representatives from the Parish Council and a number of interested parties from the village including the community association, churches, the G.P. Surgery and individual residents
- Given the priorities in the Parish Plan, it was quickly agreed that the initial focus of the organisation should be on affordable housing. No new affordable homes had been built in the village for the past 25 years. Two potential development sites emerged to give impetus to the project
- There were then detailed discussions about the nature and structure of the trust. Stocksfield Community Association Trading Arm (SCATA) was registered with Companies House on 1 May 2012. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the local Community Association and is a not for profit company limited by guarantee. Its rules require it to operate for community benefit
- With an initial focus on affordable housing SCATA, working in partnership with the Parish Council (and sharing the costs), commissioned a detailed housing needs survey. This 2012 the report clearly demonstrated a demand for affordable housing in the village, with a clear community requirement that any new homes be built on previously developed land – not in the green belt, which surrounds the village
- The first project has now been completed, resulting in seven affordable rented homes on two brownfield sites, developed in partnership with Isos Housing Association (now Karbon Homes). SCATA is now working in partnership once more with the Parish Council on an update of the 2009 Parish Plan
More information about SCATA and its work with the Parish Council is here.
Published in March 2018
