A group of local residents looking to provide permanently affordable key worker housing in Hampstead.
NW3 is a high-value area in LB Camden, home to the Royal Free Hospital, over 50 schools and many small businesses. With house prices growing rapidly it has become increasingly difficult for many people, and key workers in particular, to find affordable housing.
Local residents set up NW3 Community Land Trust with an active and skilled board and volunteers hosting regular meetings and open events. The CLT has focused their attentions on an uninhabitable council-owned building. They are seeking to maximise the number of affordable homes in a conservation area, with a mix of tenures aimed at key-workers, social renters, and older downsizers looking for community in a high value area.
How we’re helping
We have worked with NW3 CLT to establish ways of working, focus their search for sites, and offered training workshops. We supported the preparation of financially credible proposals to the council, which were well received by officers and councillors. We are supporting work to finalise the terms of the land transfer, and the project is progressing towards a planning application following a fruitful design review and a series pre-application meetings. We have also engaged with local Registered Providers about taking on landlord responsibilities of rented units.