Who are we?
We are a united group of residents and community members in Newham, coming together around a simple goal: the creation of permanently affordable homes, community spaces and facilities, led by and for the people that use them.
We want to see a regeneration in Custom House, Canning Town and Royal Docks that works for everyone. All of us at E16 Community Land Trust are invested in improving the quality and affordability of homes in Newham. This means thinking about more than bricks and mortar. When communities are empowered to collectively develop, own and manage their homes and facilities, the results can be permanent housing affordability; keeping communities together; community spaces where people can celebrate together, nourish each other, and express themselves; and the fostering of real democratic power. Bonds become stronger, health and wellbeing improve, and communities become more resilient.
Members and attendees at our AGM, November 2023
For many, living in London means transience: constantly moving from one privately rented home to the next as landlords hike rent; displacement to the outskirts of the city or beyond London, as regeneration schemes decant residents who are unable to afford the prices of planned new-builds.
In this environment, long-lasting communities are broken u, and new communities barely get the chance to seed and grow. Isolation spreads, with damaging health impacts, as people struggle against rising tides of unaffordability without support networks.
Another E16 is possible through community-led development. We believe that improving the built environment should not come at the expense of the communities that live there. Rather, regeneration should be led by these communities.
Our Founding Principles
Community Owned
Anyone who lives, works or has a connection to Newham can join E16 CLT and purchase membership for £1.25. Members hold the CLT accountable and can then get involved in the work, events and activities that we do and put themselves forward to be on the board. E16 CLT is owned by its members: the local people.
One Member – One Vote
Each year, members can vote for board members as well as participating in other big decisions. This is always on the basis of one member, one vote. Even if one member invested thousands of pounds, they would still only have one vote.
Not For Private Profit
The E16 CLT is here to benefit the everyone living and working in E16. We are aiming to provide truly affordable housing for local people: housing that stays affordable forever, not just for the first person who lives there, as well as community spaces and facilities. This means that no individuals will be able to make profit from the CLT, for example through renting out a property privately. Any surplus money made by the CLT itself will be reinvested in developing the CLT for the benefit of the community.
Our History
We were set up in 2018 by members of PEACH (the People’s Empowerment Alliance for Custom House) Housing Club to be a legal entity owned by the community, and to give local people a voice in the regeneration of our area.
Regeneration schemes in London too often result in the breaking-up of communities, and the replacement of social housing with private luxury developments. PEACH Housing Club recognised the possibility of this happening in Custom House.
In October 2016, Housing Club members put together a realistic and economically viable plan that really reflected what local people wanted to see for the future of their area. This Alternative Regeneration Plan was taken to the Council in September 2017.
Around the same time, Housing Club members decided they wanted to directly participate in delivering the future regeneration of the area, rather than simply advise on it, or be consulted by developers. Members decided they needed their own housing organisation, and voted to establish a Community Land Trust: a non-profit organisation, owned and run by members, whose aim is to provide genuinely and permanently affordable housing in our area.
This is how E16 CLT was born!
Where are we now?
E16 CLT is a registered Community Benefit Society.Our legal structure means our members can own, build and manage land, housing and community buildings. Being a CLT also means we can form legally binding partnerships with organisationspeople like Newham Council, and access funding specifically set aside for CLTs.
Since our inception, our partners have multiplied. Alongside PEACH, we are now also partnered with London CLT and Newham Citizens.London CLT focuses on helping communities create permanently affordable homes and transforming neighbourhoods. Newham Citizens is part of the organisation Citizens UK, which aims to develop the capacity and skills of disadvantaged communities in Britain and Ireland, so that members can better identify and meet their needs, and participate in social change.
By partnering with Newham Citizens, London CLT, and PEACH, our mission is strengthened, because we are all working together towards common aims. Strengthening this further, we have a ‘non-competition agreement’ with our partners. This means that each party has agreed to not submit competing proposals for any sites of opportunities in any part of Newham.
In Spring 2023, we were awarded funding from the Civic Power Fund, so that we could hire a Housing Organiser to help us build membership and advance our plans for affordable homes and a community centre in E16. We are excited to begin a series of open events in early 2024, where we will share knowledge, food, and fun, creative activities. Through these events, and through building neighbourhood relationships, we will increase our organisation’s capacity to take concrete steps towards the truly democratically-led, affordable and community-centred development plans that E16 deserves.