A message from John Clarke(New Chair of FACLT Board of Directors)
2024: A Year for Opportunity and Hope
I’m very pleased to announce my new role as Chair of Frome Area
Community Land Trust, succeeding Roger Saunders, who has been an
outstanding chair since the inception of FACLT. I want to express, on
behalf of myself and the board, sincere appreciation for Roger’s hard
work and dedication.
As we enter 2024, we’re faced with increasing challenges in providing
much-needed homes for our communities. Across the country people
are struggling with finding affordable and social rented homes with
rising and for many unaffordable rents in the renting sector. It’s time for
a shift in how we perceive renting and the relationship between landlords
and tenants. Ensuring access to a home, whether through social rental,
the market, or other rental options, is, in my opinion, a moral and ethical
obligation. We all share a responsibility to advocate for a shift away from
profit-driven motives among some landlords and developers, recognising
housing as a fundamental right, not dependent on financial means.
Frome has its unique challenges, with developments like Saxonvale and
Packsaddle sparking legitimate concerns. However, these projects also
present genuine opportunities to provide homes, whether fair rented,
social housing, or market options.
As Chair, my vision for the Community Land Trust goes beyond acquiring
land for social housing (a goal we hope to achieve in 2024). I see us
working collaboratively with developers like Mayday to build homes for
all.
My New Year’s resolution is to strengthen and build upon Roger’s legacy.
We need to grow our membership, encourage greater involvement from
members in our initiatives (we need your help to achieve our goals), and
create opportunities to secure homes for all members of our
community. Empowering and enabling individuals to remain in the area
they call home is one of our goals through our work. We want to build
strong, resilient communities, at their heart being safe, secure, and
sustainable homes. These are my hopes for 2024 and beyond.
Help us to tackle the housing crisis in Frome
Share your story: It’s time to address the housing crisis and find solutions. There are many voices not being heard. That’s why we are encouraging those who are finding it hard to find suitable housing or struggling with the homefinder bidding system to share their stories with us. If you would like to share your story (anonomously is fine) you can contact us at info@fromeareaclt.org
Like and Follow us on Social Media: Please follow us on Facebook, X formally known as Twitter and Linkedin and tell people about our work and/or sharing our events and posts on Social Media.
Become a Member: FACLT invites local people to join us and support our mission.
For a minimum of £1 you can buy a share which makes you a member, you can of course purchase as many shares as you like and any extra contributions are welcome although we operate on a one member one vote basis. You’ll receive a share certificate and will be eligible to vote at the general meetings. You will also be able to apply to stand for one of the places on the board. https://fromeareaclt.org/become-a-member/
Share Your Skills: Help us to manage the organisation, join a working group, conduct research, continue to identify opportunities and support the creation of community led housing in Frome.
Specific skills that could be useful to us…
Financial Management
Public Engagement
Legal Advice
Finding Land
Fundraising
Information Technology
Social Media
Become a board member or Director: Are you a local resident with good links in the community and some understanding of insecure housing and homelessness, either through your own experience or the experience of friends and family? Or are you someone with professional skills related to housing, fundraising, development and marketing, or a strategic thinker who can help turn vision into reality?
It’s also important to us to have as much diversity as possible on the board of directors, in terms of age, gender and experience.
We are a friendly open-minded group that meets approximately every month, with other events and activities in between. This is a voluntary position, and following a trial period, we’re looking for a commitment of two to three years.