Campaigns
Communities across the city have realised the potential of genuinely affordable CLT homes and local campaigners are working hard to advocate for land, funding and support from local policymakers. Read below about some of our campaigns in Ealing, the Aylesham Shopping Centre in Southwark, the Olympic Park and Hackney, and email us if you'd like to get involved or if you know of another project we could support.
Local Ealing residents campaigning for affordable, secure CLT housing with Ealing Citizens, April 2018
Ealing
In 2022, Ealing council made a commitment to building at least 100 CLT homes and Ealing Citizens, along with London CLT, have been working closely with the council to identify suitable sites for this development. Although several potential sites have been identified a variety of challenges have prevented further progress. Despite these challenges, the community group and London CLT remain dedicated to delivering genuinely affordable CLT homes in the borough and continue to push the council on its commitment.
Aylesham Shopping Centre, Southwark
Peckham and Southwark Citizens have been actively campaigning for more genuinely affordable and CLT homes to be included in the planned redevelopment of the Aylesham Shopping Centre, led by private developer Berkeley Homes.
Berkeley Homes' current proposal includes 850 new homes, with 35% designated as affordable. However, there has been significant local opposition to the development. Peckham and Southwark Citizens, alongside London CLT, are campaigning for at least 40% of the homes to be genuinely affordable, including 10% allocated as CLT homes. We continue to work with the council to ensure the maximum number of genuinely affordable homes are provided for the local community.
River Lee Navigation Canal in Hackney Wick. Photo courtesy of Wick CDT.
East Wick & Sweetwater, Olympic Park
Size: 16 homes + retail/workspace
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A plot for 16 homes is being brought forward for community-led housing within the East Wick and Sweetwater area by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), which is the organisation behind the Olympic Park. London CLT have teamed up with Hackney Wick & Fish Island Community Development Trust (CDT) to submit a joint bid for the site. It is also our intention to campaign for further sites to be made available within the Olympic Park.
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"2022 marks ten years since London hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In 2005 Lord Coe, Mayor Livingstone and the then GLA assembly member, John Biggs, signed an ethical charter with a commitment to build at least 100 CLT homes on the Olympic Park. St Clements in Tower Hamlets was developed as a pilot demonstrating that CLTs could play an important role in the delivery of community-led genuinely affordable housing in London. However, ten years on, not one single CLT home has been delivered on the Olympic Park. The LLDC’s Annual Monitoring Report confirmed that of 11,000+ homes developed so far, 71% are for private sale or rent, 29% are affordable homes, and just under half of these affordable homes are for social rent (while the other half are for intermediate rent). After factoring in housing lost as a result of development on the Olympic Park, the net gain in genuinely affordable housing is 790 units, of those zero are CLT homes. The Olympic legacy housing promises have not been delivered, but our work continues." - Penny Bernstock, UCL Institute for Global Prosperity
Hackney
We are working with Hackney Council to explore the potential for CLTs in the borough and identify available sites. In collaboration with Hackney & Islington Citizens, we are reaching out to local community members and organisations to understand housing needs in Hackney and see if they would like to get involved.
