St Ives Community Land Trust – working to transform the local community of St Ives

St Ives Community Land Trust (St Ives CLT) is part of a nationwide network of Community Land Trusts that are leading the movement to mainstream the community ownership of affordable housing and land in local communities across the region. St Ives CLT received £20,000 from the CCF’s Social Enterprise Fund in October 2021 towards a new full-time member of staff and to provide training for other groups which could help to generate income.

Set up in 2015, St Ives CLT is working to transform the local community of St Ives by providing affordable housing, workspaces, facilities and services that meet the needs of the local community.

In 2019, St Ives CLT raised funds and successfully purchased the Old Vicarage Flats in the centre of St Ives, refurbishing the building into six new affordable rental flats. The housing project provided homes for fourteen local people, offering four, two-bedroom flats and two, one-bedroom flats with gardens. The affordable rentals included green energy facilities through insulation, air-source heating and an electric car charging point.

As well as their affordable housing programme, St Ives CLT have also purchased eight units for the workspace project, turning the units into eight affordable rental workspace premises for locals. And during the Covid-19 crisis Cornwall Community Foundation (CCF) supported the work of volunteers offering services to their local community, named the ‘Covid Coalition’. Volunteers were on-hand to provide transport, pick up medication and deliver food to those in need within the St Ives community.

Jill Block, secretary at St Ives Community Land Trust said “By supporting our capacity and the work we do, as a community group we can keep maintaining the fantastic buildings, supporting our connections and soon we will be providing six affordable rental homes for local people when the internal redevelopment is completed. The support we receive across our projects from CCF means a great deal to us, thank you.”