Aster Group and Spaxton Community Land Trust partnership to deliver new affordable homes

Award-winning housing association Aster Group has been selected by Spaxton Community Land Trust (SCLT) as its preferred registered provider of new affordable homes in the village.

The proposed site for the new homes is situated north of the High Street with space for nine affordable homes, which is expected to include two one-bedroom maisonettes, five two-bedroom houses and two three-bedroom houses.

Subject to funding, it is intended the homes will be available for social or affordable rent and occupants will need to meet a local connection requirement to enable their tenancy to go ahead.

Commenting on the new partnership, Amanda Williams, Aster Group chief investment officer, said: “We’re delighted to have been selected as Spaxton CLT’s preferred registered provider and we look forward to working together to deliver some much need affordable homes for the village.

“CLTs are becoming ever popular as the local community is at the heart of the decision making process. Through working with SCLT we will help deliver new affordable homes for local people which have been shaped to meet the specific needs of this community.”

SCLT was incorporated as a Mutual Benefit Society in 2019 to ensure community control over future affordable housing development in the village. New housing delivered by SCLT and Aster will be exclusively available to those with strong connections to Spaxton. SCLT will retain the freehold interest in the land. SCLT, Aster and Aster’s framework contractor will deliver the new homes which will be managed by Aster under a long-term lease.

Chairman Mike Hodson Spaxton CLT said : “Spaxton CLT is delighted to partner with Aster to build our affordable homes. Aster's experience in dealing with CLT projects gives us the confidence that we will achieve the quality of design, environmental standards and community satisfaction to which we aspire."

As the leading housing association provider of CLT partnerships Aster has delivered 13 CLT schemes across the south and south west to date. Spaxton marks the Group’s first CLT in Somerset.

Amanda Williams concludes: “We’re celebrating Rural Housing Week, 4-11 July, which is a great opportunity to put CLT’s centre stage. House prices and monthly rents can be beyond the reach of many so we are inviting interested community individuals and groups to get in contact to find out if a CLT could help deliver affordable housing in their areas.”

Rural Housing Week is an annual campaign to showcase the work housing associations do in rural communities. The theme for the 2022 campaign is levelling up rural communities.

For further information on Aster Group, visit www.aster.co.uk and for more information on SCLT, visit www.spaxtonclt.org/