Swanage Community Housing

27/05/2024

Swanage Community Housing update May 2024

At the consultation in December we promised to give an update as soon as we had presented and discussed a Planning Pre Application (Pre-app) with planners and we indicated that we hoped that this would be around Easter.

Easter has come and gone (rather early this year!) and we felt it was time to give you all an update on progress. We have appointed Hastoe Housing Association to carry out and manage this project on Washpond Lane and with us they have appointed Architects, who submitted the pre-application to planning on 29th April. [The purpose of the Pre-app is to ensure that key issues (e.g. location of access) are appropriate and acceptable to planners, but much of the detail we want to consult on will only be developed following discussions on the Pre-app. Following discussions on the Pre-app a draft full planning proposal, which takes account of discussions on the Pre-app, will be prepared providing full details of the proposal (the Pre-app only covers high level matters).

The length of time it is expected to take planners to consider our Pre-app currently is 8 to 12 weeks. Producing a draft planning proposal which sets out all the details on which we would like to consult with you will take an additional [4-6] weeks.
We will consult on the draft planning proposal once it has been prepared, with a view to taking into account comments on that detailed proposal before submitting it to Dorset Council for planning permission, but that will probably now, not be for a further 12-16 weeks.

In the meantime, we are progressing with the land transfer with Dorset and agreeing with them an allocations policy that will focus on local people and key workers, although this has been held up a little by Local Elections and a change in Dorset Governance.

We are still very optimistic about this site which we believe will eventually provide some very attractive homes at social rents for local people, whilst also improving the environment and access along Washpond Road.

08/03/2024

Earlier this week, we spoke to on Budget day to highlight the critical need for affordable homes in Swanage.

191 Swanage residents are in registered as in Housing Need.

The average salary for Purbeck residents is £26k, which on a x4 mortgage multiple enables a purchase of a beach hut (£75k) or 25% share ownership of a home at Compass Point.

Without affordable homes, our community and economy will continue to be adversely affected; this is why we are committed to ensuring that affordable homes are built in Swanage for local people and key workers.

17/01/2024

Following Monday's meeting of Swanage Town Council, we are delighted to share the news that the Councillors voted in favour to both change the status of the site at Ulwell Road/Washpond Lane (making it viable for an affordable housing development) and to enable this plot to be transferred directly from Dorset Council to Swanage Community Land Trust!

We are now proceeding with the usual surveys and reports required prior to submitting for Pre Planning, which will include further Public Consultations in relation to the Ullwell/Washpond site and its development.

Please follow us on Facebook and/or become a member of Swanage Community Housing to be kept up to date with our progress.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who provided feedback, contacted Councillors, attended our first consultation and voiced their support for the need for affordable housing for local people and key workers in Swanage.

12/01/2024

A big thank you to all who attended our consultation last week at All Saints Church, where over 50 Swanage residents joined us, despite the extreme weather!

The consultation was a great success and showed a lot of support for affordable housing for local people and key workers in our community.

Please continue to show your support by attending the next meeting of Swanage Town Council on Monday 15th January 2024 at 7pm in the Town Hall where the current status of the land at Ullwell Rd/Washpond Lane is an Agenda item.

21/12/2023

Housing on land at Ullwell Road and Washpond Lane;

public invitation, and frequently asked questions:

06/12/2023

Swanage Community Housing – update December 2023

Swanage Community Housing (SCH) is close to unveiling plans to build much needed affordable homes in Swanage. SCH is the local housing charity, established in 2021as a “community benefit society” with support from the Swanage community and Swanage Town Council; the brief, to build new, affordable homes for rent in the town.

Several sites have been identified and the news is that negotiations are progressing to enable a transfer of land from Dorset Council to Swanage Town Council for the first development. The site is on the corner of Ulwell Road and Washpond lane. Gifted originally by James Day to the town for the benefit of local townspeople, this is surely something he would approve of!

SCH has identified Hastoe Homes, a registered provider of affordable housing with a track record of building sustainable housing schemes in sensitive rural environments, as their partner to deliver the affordable homes the town can be proud of.

Robin Sutcliffe, Chair of SCH, said, “We are delighted to be working with Hastoe as they have decades of experience in building well designed schemes that are sympathetic to such superb natural environments like ours whilst also providing high quality, energy efficient housing. We plan to consult residents on a detailed scheme for the site in the next few months.”

Swanage Councillor Nicola Rogers, who together with Cllr. Debbie Monkhouse provides day-to-day support to SCH, said, “We are pleased to be working closely with Dorset Council and SCH to bring much needed affordable housing to Swanage. Everyone knows that there is a real shortage of affordable, rental housing for local families and key workers in Swanage. We are excited at the progress being made toward their first scheme.”

Swanage Community Housing
SCH is a Community Land Trust (CLT) trading as a Community Benefit Society with exempt charitable status.

For more information contact Robin Sutcliffe on 01929 421556.

Swanage Community Housing website is at

Swanage Community Housing Building affordable homes for local residents and key workers About Us Find out more What is affordable housing Find out more Membership Become a Member Have a Question? Contact Us Latest News Joint statement from Swanage Town Council & Swanage Community Housing 22/12/22Swa...

22/12/2022

joint statement Swanage Town Council & Swanage Community Housing 22nd December 2022:

Swanage Town Council and Swanage Community Housing have agreed to explore the potential of developing a parcel of land in Swanage to provide affordable housing for working families with a strong connection to the town.

The field, on the corner of Ulwell Road and Washpond Lane, currently belongs to Dorset Council and is used as a horse paddock. It was given by local benefactor James Day to Dorset County Council together with the site of Day’s Home and James Day Mead. The Town Council has applied to Dorset Council to have the property transferred to local control, and a decision on this should be made in early 2023.

There is an urgent need for affordable housing in Swanage and neighbouring villages. In Swanage, at this moment, there are 119 active households on the Housing Register already, and a further 56 households have submitted applications.

The Trust and Council have been exploring the possibility of developing other larger sites in the town to meet this need. However, they cannot be taken forward at the current time as no alternative sites for the relocation of existing uses have been identified.

One of the principal challenges related to the Ulwell Road site is regular flooding of parts of the field. Mitigation of this risk will need to be fully explained as part of any future planning application. It is estimated that approximately 7 dwellings could be built on this land, with parts of the site remaining as green open space.

Town Mayor, Tina Foster said: ‘It is so important that homes are available for people who make an important contribution to our town but cannot afford to live locally. The Town Council has, therefore, decided to support Swanage Community Housing’s proposal to explore whether the field on the corner of Washpond Lane and Ulwell Road can be developed sensitively to meet genuine local need’.

Robin Sutcliffe, Chair of Swanage Community Housing said ‘Community engagement will be extremely important as the proposals for this site evolve and there will be many opportunities to contribute to the project during 2023’.

Swanage Community Housing was established by the Town Council as an independent body run by a Board of local trustees to provide housing for local working people. It was in part inspired by the successful community housing project at Worth Matravers.

More information about Swanage Community Housing can be found on their website https://www.swanagecommunityhousing.org which includes information about how people can support the project by becoming a Member.

There are many ways to get involved with Swanage Community Housing; from becoming a member, to volunteering your time perhaps by raising awareness in the local and wider communities or by offering your skills as a Trustee.  For an informal chat about how you can help or for any enquiries, please us...

30/06/2022

Swanage Community Housing is looking for someone with Treasurer/Company Secretary experience who would be interested in volunteering their time to help us to achieve our goal of building genuinely affordable housing for local people and key workers in beautiful Swanage.

If you have Treasurer and/or Company Secretary experience in a paid or volunteer capacity and would be interested in joining our friendly, collaborative and passionate team of trustees, please get in touch: [email protected]

20/05/2022

good morning Swanage, happy Friday and check out our new website 🏠 ❤️



www.swanagecommunityhousing.org

There are many ways to get involved with Swanage Community Housing; from becoming a member, to volunteering your time perhaps by raising awareness in the local and wider communities or by offering your skills as a Trustee.  For an informal chat about how you can help or for any enquiries, please us...

15/04/2022

Swanage is one of the seaside towns featured in an article in today's Daily Mail about house prices, second home ownership and tourism.

EXCLUSIVE: The rise in holiday homes being snapped up in prized parts of the UK is pitching young against old, parents against children and locals against outsiders.

08/04/2022

Swanage Community Housing now has 40 members!

Come and join us, and help build genuinely affordable housing for our community 🏡 ❤️

www.swanagecommunityhousing.org

Affordable housing is vital for Swanage, become a member, or join our committee! Membership is £5 and you have a stake and a vote.

07/02/2022

A lot of zoom meetings and real progress going on behind the scenes.
Exciting times ahead.