What is a Community Land Trust?

• Community Land Trusts are independent non-profit, democratic organisations owned and run by volunteers.
• They own, develop and steward land and other assets like affordable homes, for the long-term wellbeing of their local community.
• Locking assets for the community. This is a crucial defining feature. A CLT will endeavour to protect the community’s long-term interests, for example by keeping its homes permanently affordable. If the CLT decides to sell a home, the cash realised is protected by an asset lock and is re-invested into something else that the trust’s members think will benefit the local community - it cannot be paid out to members.

What is Bury Parish Community Land Trust, and what are its aims?

• The CLT would enable the community to look for opportunities to provide a small number of genuinely affordable homes for local people, or for people with a strong local connection. A CLT sets its own Housing Allocations policy to manage this.
• The Bury Parish CLT would for now primarily focus on providing affordable rented homes.

Why do we need a CLT in Bury Parish?

A CLT will give Bury Parish a voice, give Bury the housing it needs and give Bury a sustainable future.

There is a shortage of affordable housing in Bury. A CLT would empower the community to engage with landowners and developers to provide affordable rented housing that will help support local people to stay and continue to contribute to our community’s future.

What is the difference between the Bury Community Led Housing Steering Group and Bury Parish CLT?

The Bury Community Led Housing Steering Group was set up by Bury Parish Council with the aim of forming a Community Land Trust (CLT). 

Bury Parish CLT will be an independent organisation with its own legal identity once it has been through an incorporation process.

Who is behind the Community Led Housing Group? 

Current membership of the Bury Parish Community Led Housing Group includes four Parish Councillors and three local residents. 

What is a ‘community asset’?

CLT’s own, develop and steward land and other assets like affordable homes, workspaces and landscapes for the long-term wellbeing of their local community.

Is Bury Parish CLT the same as or part of Bury Parish Council or Chichester District Council?

No, it will be independent of Bury Parish Council and Chichester District Council.

Can I be part of the CLT?

Yes, details on how you can apply to become a member will be made available once the CLT is formally incorporated. 

Is Bury Parish CLT a charity?

This will be confirmed once the CLT has been incorporated.

Is Bury Parish CLT a company or privately owned?

It will not be privately owned. The definition of the legal structure will be confirmed once the CLT has been incorporated.

Who holds Bury Parish CLT to account/ are you regulated?

It is likely to be The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to be confirmed.

How can I see if Bury Parish CLT steering group members have a conflict of interest?

We will publish details of members' interests on the website.

Is Bury Parish CLT politically aligned?

No

Are there other CLTs locally?

Yes: Arundel CLT, Midhurst CLT, Slinfold CLT.

When will you start to accept members?

We will give details on how to get involved, including membership and future recruitment to the managing board once we are incorporated. Getting responses to the Housing Needs Survey is an important step on this journey, so please encourage people to fill in the survey.

What are the benefits of membership?

Members will be the first to know about updates from the CLT and local projects. They also get a vote at the AGM, including for CLT board members who manage the Trust, decide the allocations policy, and help to sustain the Trust’s assets.

What impact will building more homes in Bury have on Bury CE primary School? Isn’t the school full already?

The Head teacher at Bury School told us: 'With a National picture of a declining number of pupils starting primary school due to a reducing birth rate, Bury CE Primary finds itself in the enviable position of number of applications exceeding the number of places available. This is the case due to families from outside of our village making an active choice to travel to our school. Whilst this is a positive picture for us now, the strain on schools in the wider area is significant, which ultimately leaves us all fighting for an ever decreasing number of children. 

Historically, Bury was established to provide an education to the children in the immediate local area – if this was still the case now, we would not have enough children to remain financially viable and the school would be lost. It was only in 2017 that the school had no new starters and was at significant risk of closure. Whilst this is far from the case now, it is important to learn lessons from the past and to not forget how quickly things can change in our small village schools.

By increasing the number of homes in Bury, this would help to safeguard the future of the school, not only in the short term, but in the long term. Bury CE Primary has been here since 1844, serving its local community and providing such a good quality of education that families from much further afield choose to travel the extra mile to be part of the school and help us to fill our places. Our priority will always be to our local children, without them, bluntly, there is no need for us to exist. Without children from outside of Bury helping us to reach our capacity we would be increasingly vulnerable to local population fluctuations. More housing in Bury could help to negate this future risk.' 

Chair of governors, added: 'While the school currently operates at or near capacity in some year groups, it is important to clarify that children living within the village are always given priority under our admissions criteria. Local families, including those moving into the parish, are therefore well placed to secure a Reception place provided they apply on time. It is not accurate to state simply that ‘Bury School is full’ as a general reason to oppose new housing, as admissions are determined by criteria that prioritise children from the village.”

These FAQs will be regularly updated when we receive questions or the information in the answers changes.

Questions asked at our information event on 19/02/26

What is the size of the Westbourne site? 

1 acre. (Answered by Frank Campbell, Chair of Westbourne Community Trust.)

What does a member do?

We’ll keep you updated on how to become a member and what they’ll do once we've been incorporated, but it includes voting at the AGM. (Answered by Richard Champness, Chair of Bury Parish CLT.)

Do you know how many people want to move to Bury? 

It's difficult to know as people don’t come forward unless they can see there will be properties. We ask people on the housing register what their local connections are, so we wouldn’t know if they wanted to move here without a connection. (Answered by Louise Williams, Housing Enabler at Chichester District Council.)

Do you build then wait for people to apply? 

FC: You’ll be surprised about the number of locals who want housing here once the project is underway.

How do you know what size houses you want to build? 

LW: SDNPA is in charge of planning (CDC is in charge of housing), and they carry out detailed work to understand the number and type of homes in an area. They will never meet the need in the SDNP, and it's unlikely that many would be allocated in Bury’s plan. CLTs have influence over the types of homes that will be built.

The grant funding achieved for the Westbourne project is impressive. Can Frank provide the mentorship he recommended? 

FC: [Spoke about the approach for funding (i.e. as developer and registered provider).] It's very difficult to become an RP and that helped significantly with the grants. Our mentor was initially paid but then took a shine to the project and refused payment. You will likely find someone who can advise and possibly for free. 

LW: The Community-Led housing fund is based on tax income from second home ownership, and it was decided that we use it for affordable housing. Funds have been depleted by Frank and Midhurst's housing project, but there are some funds left. 

Who owned the Westbourne site? 

FC: CDC, who had tried to develop the site 20 years previously, but it led to hostility, as they tried to build 25 houses. So the parish was handed the lease and the homes are owned by the trust. 

What is Frank’s background? 

Planner and director at a local authority.