AT the first public meeting to explore the idea of setting up a Community Land Trust in Jersey, organisers ran short of chairs, so Xanthe Hamilton and Josh Noad are entitled to be upbeat.
Now the pair are planning to establish a steering group and are inviting further community interest in what the CLT network calls “democratic, non-profit organisations that own and develop land for the benefit of the community”.
Although Ms Hamilton – project manager for the Turner Prize-winning Granby 4 Streets collective – and architect Mr Noad have cited the former La Folie Inn as an example of the sort of site that might be developed for the community, they stress it is simply an example.
“The definition can be quite wide,” Ms Hamilton explained.
“It can be affordable housing or any sort of community-run asset, from a venue to hotel accommodation.
“What the property is can be very flexible – it’s how it’s managed and the fact that the community decide what it is that are important.
“It’s not down to Josh and me. It’s very much putting the community at the heart of the decisions, which is not a common process here in Jersey. We are trying to describe that process and set out the steps to achieve it,” she added.
Developing that idea, Mr Noad pointed out that potential sites could be in public or private ownership, whether buildings, public spaces or even fields.
“In somewhere like Jersey where costs are quite prohibitive for a lot of community-based or cultural functions, the purpose of the CLT would be to remove the element of the private-sector profit, so you can lock in space which is community used and owned.
“You eliminate profits for perpetuity, so there is rent control or cost control on space which allows for community projects that don’t have huge budgets. Basically, it opens out accessibility to more public use,” he explained.
Developing projects not for financial return but rather to ensure long-term community sustainability gives such development an entirely different character, Ms Hamilton explained.
“It’s not about consulting the community: it’s about making the community the clients for the project.
“Once that community is engaged, the brief for the architect or whoever designs it will come out of that community, and they will essentially manage and own it. It makes things more accessible. I’d really like to see younger people who’d like to get involved coming forward.
“Developments here are very much left to property developers or the government to be delivered. This is showing how it can be delivered by the people themselves for the people – you can get incredible results when you put people at the heart of the process because the passion can be the driving force for what is achieved,” she said.
The approach is more common in the UK, where land values and lower building costs have served as greater encouragement for such ventures but Ms Hamilton and Mr Noad – both volunteers, they are keen to stress – think that the idea has real potential nonetheless.
For those interested, an online questionnaire has been created – docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfb763dKr6RmYoC1BLWNjGDEf3kh_9m5r8-MEV1nvsIz1cftA/viewform – and a new website, Jerseyclt.org, has gone live, giving contact details for the steering group.
“This can be how we can shape our own Island going forward, and bring in a lot of things we think are missing that get overlooked at the moment – lack of music venues, or things for younger people to do, or university leavers, for example.
“If a gap needs filling, let’s find those people and do it for ourselves. Let’s get people’s imaginations going on what it could be,” Ms Hamilton said.
The next meeting for the Jersey Community Land Trust will be today at the Eagle Lab workspace in Jersey Library from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.
For further information about the Community Land Trust, email connect@jerseyclt.org.
