Angmering land trust to deliver new affordable homes

During a meeting of the Residential & Wellbeing Services Committee on Thursday (June 3), members agreed to pass £582,531.96 of Section 106 contributions to the Angmering Community Land Trust to go towards its development on Mayflower Way.

The Trust was set up in 2015 with parishioners taking on the role of developers in a bid to ease the shortage of affordable housing in the village.

They received permission in 2018 to build in Mayflower Way, buying the land from the parish council for £1.

The Section 106 money was paid to the council by Crayfern Homes, developer of a 24-home site to the north of the same road.

Rather than provide affordable housing on its own site, Crayfern reached an agreement with the council and the Trust which allowed the money – known as a commuted sum – to be used to build affordable homes elsewhere.

The development will be made up of eight affordable rented homes and four shared ownership homes.

Committee members unanimously agreed to hand over the money, with some praising the Trust as a ‘flagship project’.

Philippa Dart, director of services, said: “A lot of work has gone into this. There are many advantages in community housing and the commuted sum was for this purpose.”

Pauline Gregory (Lib Dem, Rustington West) described the scheme as ‘excellent’, adding: “The benefits of the eight rental properties is they can’t be sold under Right To Buy and will be available continually for Angmering residents, which has got to be a really good thing.”