Communities and industry can build on common ground. Here is how.

98% of people distrust developers to make decisions that are good for their community. 93% distrust councils. It does not have to be this way. 

What if you could work in partnership with communities?

Community land trusts offer a different model. CLTs are community-owned, democratic organisations that develop and steward affordable homes and community assets in perpetuity – with the support of the people who live there. They are not a niche alternative. They are a proven route to delivering homes that communities trust, support and genuinely want.

The government has made community-led housing a priority for the Social and Affordable Homes Programme. The direction of travel on stewardship of new developments is clear. And 60% of communities say they want more say over what gets built where they live.

It is already working

In England and Wales, three quarters of all completed CLT housing projects are partnerships with housing associations, local authorities and developers. 186 partnership projects are completed or underway. 54 housing associations and developers are already active in this space.

The organisations already doing this are unlocking sites that mainstream routes cannot reach, building community support that traditional development cannot generate, and delivering genuinely affordable homes that stay affordable permanently.

Image: Mortehoe and Woolacombe CLT and Aster Housing Group start work on site for 21 new social rent homes in March 2026, one of Aster’s 22 projects in partnership with a community land trust

The gap

Despite this, industry partners still lack a dedicated space to learn from each other, share what works and develop the practice and confidence to do more. Every organisation is figuring this out largely on its own. And the organisations best placed to deliver community-led housing at scale are not yet part of our collective voice shaping the conditions that make it possible. 

That is what we are building – the infrastructure to scale what works, and a collective voice to change the conditions that are holding it back. 

The founding cohort

The CLT Network is recruiting a small founding cohort of housing associations, local authorities and developers already delivering community-led housing with CLTs and ready to do more: to co-create a new cross-sector network for community-led housing delivery.

Founding cohort members receive free participation until April 2027 in exchange for taking part in a handful of co-creation sessions and events – online and offline – kicking off in September 2026.

This is your chance to shape what the network becomes, not just join it.

Founding members will help design:

• A cross-sector advocacy agenda that shapes national planning and funding policy and gives members a collective voice in consultations they cannot influence alone
• Templates and resources that build confidence and capability across your teams to make community-led partnerships a mainstream part of your pipeline
• Peer communities where the organisations already making community-led delivery work share what it takes – so members can do more of it, faster

Who we are looking for

Housing associations, local authorities and developers already working with CLTs who want to do more and who are willing to share what they know to help others get there.

We will be in touch within two weeks with more detail and to answer any questions.

With thanks to the Laudes Foundation and the European Community Land Trust Network for their support.