13 January 2018 Clerk's notes for council meeting Page 1 of 3

NOTES FROM CLERK FOR A COUNCIL MEETING TO BE HELD ON 14th MARCH, 2018

6. Finance a. Financial update papers were added separately to the meeting papers when the agenda went out and are

available via our website. I need to make a few points:

• We are now expecting a surplus some £700 higher than originally budgeted. This is mainly the result of the £500 compensation from NatWest for their incompetence, and lower than expected maintenance costs. The other big variance from the budget is the cost of the shed balanced by the grant from SSE.

• I will try to get invoices from Dave Dawtrey and George Hughes so that these amounts can be paid before the year-end to avoid an artificially high surplus in our annual return. Please authorise payments.

• See item 7c referring to council assets b. Approval of new council financial regulations KT is still investigating and drafting these so we will need to

postpone this item to our next meeting

7. Update on amenity plans for church a. Heaters (DD): one heater in use, second ready before 31 March? Need invoice asap to pay before year-end b. Shed (DS): installation done last week. See also item 7d below. c. Kitchen cupboard (NR): quotes received for £2,500 – 3,000 – will require funding, hence . . . . d. Trotton Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) proposal: I am concerned about assets such as the shed

and heaters (and any further emergency and other equipment) appearing on our asset register when we will not control them, but we are not allowed to make donations to the church. We have also found various potential funding avenues blocked because the donors (eg Grange Trust and WSCC) do not allow grants to parish councils and churches. DS and I met the chair of the Grange Fund to discuss potential structures that might solve both problems, and we agreed that the best solution would be to establish a Trotton Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). This could be run by a joint committee of PC, PCC and residents and any resident could be a voting member. It could apply for grants for any qualifying purpose ( to be set by the CIO but basically to do with our “amenity plans”) and could then own the assets. Since the PC could make donations to it (which we can’t to the church), this could also cover our church grounds maintenance donations (clerk’s “salary”) and any other donations we wanted to make for amenity purposes. It could be the organiser of community events (saves the money going through PC or church “books”) and it could even be involved in the fete and bonfire at some stage if we wish (removing some of the anomalies with these events. Setting it up is relatively straightforward and we have the paperwork that was used for the Midhurst Community Bus (which is also a CIO) to start from. DS and NR recommend we go ahead with this immediately, so that we can give the shed and heaters to it when we officially accept them. I have attached a government summary of types of charitable body as appendix A.

8. Rogate community land trust proposal NR attended a meeting in Rogate on 2 Feb to discuss the proposed setting up of a community land trust (CLT) to provide local low-cost housing – as we have discussed before. I had not realised that the proposal had already progressed to the formal advice stage and that this meeting was to agree the formal setup, with an officer of the Sussex Community Housing Hub (SCHH) there to begin the application process. At the meeting I expressed our PC’s interest in collaborating with a neighbouring PC rather than establishing our own CLT and found myself pressed to make a formal commitment, as it would be quicker to build us into the paperwork now than amend it later. As I obviously could not do so, but believed we would agree to it, the steering committee agreed to include us provisionally if I could confirm within a week. As you know, we did so informally by email and Carola agreed to join me on the steering committee. The “scoping report” from SCHH is attached as appendix B to these notes and explains the proposal better than I could. As I see it, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain by giving formal agreement to supporting this venture and I seek the PC’s official endorsement.

9. Ultrafast broadband proposal (Rob Merrick) I regret to say that I failed to follow up with Rob Merrick on this item. He will provide an overview before, and be ready to discuss it at, the meeting.

13 January 2018 Parish council minutes Page 2 of 3

10. Bus services: withdrawal of commercial services – Midhurst / Petersfield and villages Since compiling the agenda, I have heard from Kate O’Kelly that there has been a one-year reprieve in the shut-down of the Midhurst – Petersfield – Chichester bus services which had been feared. However, she is going ahead with a public meeting to discuss alternatives and I am sure she will say more on Wed.

11. Iping & Trotton common fire – possible joint approach with Stedham & Iping parish to SWT At a meeting of the Iping & Stedham Commons Management Committee this week, chaired by the CEO of the Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT), which I attended with representatives of Stedham PC and the Leconfield Estate, the three of us pointed out, in no uncertain terms, that the lack of detailed explanation and apology, a week after the fire, was not acceptable. We heard more explanation at the meeting (it was a group of volunteers with an SWT ranger, not contractors, that started the fire) and we heard a (quite impressive and reassuring) summary of the effects on wildlife and plants (mostly comforting re the former and beneficial for the latter).

I took along the following questions collected from our members and other locals, and I have summarised the answers (from my notes – minutes not circulated yet): What is the membership, rôle and status of this committee? It is a statutory “commons council” to link the landowner (SWT) with neighbouring landowners, parish councils etc. It has no specific rights but is a useful advisory panel for SWT Are you prepared to stop all fencing work until an enquiry reports back? No. Apart from anything else, we have entered into a formal agreement with Natural England that requires us to start grazing the common by this summer Who do you propose to ask to conduct the enquiry – internal or external – and will there be an opportunity for witnesses to contribute? We have not yet discussed this but will consider your suggestion of bringing in an outside body Do you have a complaints procedure? Who should we go to if we wish to make a formal complaint of negligence, either as a council or as a landowner? You could complain directly to me (CEO) Local people report multiple bonfires with one or two workmen sitting in vans drinking coffee – how did the SWT brief and supervise the work? [Jane Wilmott] It was not the contractors who started the fire, but they did not leave any bonfires unattended – they would have been nearby keeping careful watch. This fire was set by a team of volunteers under an SWT ranger in a designated bonfire area. [CEO] We will look into how it spread from that area to such a wide swathe of the common. We have seen a big increase in birds on our feeders. How much damage to bird and other wildlife do you expect? Long and impressive response from two SWT specialists Have you given any statement to the media? So far, only the initial short one on the day – which appeared in the next day’s Midhurst & Petworth Observer. We have heard that some of the fences are in significantly different places than approved at the public hearing. Is that true and, of so, why have you apparently said you could not move the fence on the Western boundary bridle path, which everyone seems to want moved? The fences are all as approved – we were allowed a very small degree of flexibility to cope with unforeseen issues. The main complaint about that bridle path is by horse-riders but the neighbouring landowners at the time (Messrs Homan and Berenc) wanted it on the side it is to make it less prominent. If the fences are simply to keep cattle in, why do they need all the wire netting – one walker asked me when the machine gun posts would be erected? They are standard stock fencing as approved in the application. I heard at a recent WSCC meeting that you have added barbed wire to the fences on one of your commons and banned horse-riders from many of the paths. Can you assure us this will not happen here? [CEO] I don’t know which common that is but I will make enquiries. We do not normally use barbed wire.

The outsiders at the meeting (Stedham PC, the Leconfield Estate and I) asked for a very public apology by their CEO and for a full enquiry, led by a credible outside body, with the report presented to a public meeting with their CEO and ecologists present. You have all seen the watered-down version that we have got so far and my email response to it. I have heard from Stedham council that they also found the SWT response inadequate and intend to call for an independent enquiry and public meeting, and for a copy of the fire service report on the fire, and that they are keen to have our support in a joint effort.

13 January 2018 Parish council minutes Page 3 of 3

12. Operation Watershed update CB has obtained quotes for the CCFTV inspection of the drains on the A272 above Trotton bridge and Kate O’Kelly has now signed off on the application for funds to pay for this, so we await the verdict.

13. General data protection regulations (GDPR) preparation I will be doing further training on this in my school governor rôle but the advice I am seeing increasingly suggests that parish and school clerks should not be the data protection officers for their organisations. At a recent meeting I discussed this with both Stedham and Rogate council members and we all agreed to look at the possibility of being each others’ DPOs. I will report back later and will need to get final approval at our May meeting as GDPR comes into force on 25th May. I have already worked through ICO and SSALC questionnaires to map the personal data I keep and make sure that it is secure and justifiable (in my view it meets these requirements). However, one of the implications of GDPR is the requirement to have overt permission to keep this information and to be prepared to show people what we keep, and this is one of the reasons for the suggestions at item 14 below.

14. Communication issues a. GDPR resident leaflet drop: The easiest way to get permission from, and improve, our “First Friday” and

other email lists would be to deliver a leaflet through every door in the parish, asking them to “opt in” to the lists and informing them about our data protection policy and measures. This might be hard to justify on its own but could easily be associated with the other proposals at b – d below to increase its value.

b. Possible council annual report: Some councils produce an annual report to residents for their annual parish meeting, and I would like to suggest we do the same. This could expand on our usual chairman’s letter for the annual meeting and include: what we’ve done on residents’ behalf this year – eg:

• events: concert, talk and air ambulance presentation in church, support of fete and bonfire

• public services: litter pickup and ragwort clearance

• public affairs: Farnborough air traffic protest, Easebourne school expansion protest, advertising at Aylings, etc etc;

• amenity & resilience project: donations of heater, shed etc at church

• community organisations: possible community land trust and community interest organisation We could either produce this ourselves as a simple leaflet (I will show an example at the meeting) or as part of a special feature in R&TNews (they would charge £150 for the extra copies for every household but they might agree to cut this a bit in exchange for new advertising!

c. At risk register: DS and I have discussed setting up a register of vulnerable people in the parish, possibly with the help of SSE. Via the new community care initiative KM and I heard about at the WSCC Chichester NW committee meeting last week, local doctors and other healthcare professionals could also be invited to add people to this.

d. Emergency equipment register: DS and I have discussed setting up a register of people with chain saws etc that could be used in emergencies

15. Local events (details on website): a. Update on any planned events b. Plans for annual meeting c. Potential folk evening: RH? d. Litter pickup – broader event such as barbecue etc? e. Velo south cycle race (September): KT suggests we might object to the road closures on behalf of this

private company event

GOV.UK 1. Home (https://www.gov.uk/)

2. Setting up and running a charity (https://www.gov.uk/topic/running-charity)

3. Setting up a charity (https://www.gov.uk/topic/running-charity/setting-up)

Guidance

Charity types: how to choose a structure (CC22a)

• English

• Cymraeg (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/charity-types-how-to-choose-a-structure.cy)

Decide whether to set up a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), a charitable company or an

unincorporated association or trust.

Published 30 May 2014

Last updated 4 November 2014 — see all updates

From:

The Charity Commission (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission)

Applies to:

England and Wales (see guidance for Northern Ireland (https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/) and

Scotland (http://www.oscr.org.uk/))

Contents

• Types of charity structure

• About corporate structures

• About charities with a wider membership

• Charities with a corporate structure: which type to choose

• Charities without a corporate structure: which type to choose

• How to write your governing document

• How to change your charity’s structure

Types of charity structure

To set up a new charity, you must decide what sort of legal structure it will have.

Your charity structure is defined by its ‘governing document’ (the legal document that creates the charity and

says how it should be run).

The type of structure you choose affects how your charity will operate, such as:

• who will run it and whether it will have a wider membership

• whether it can enter into contracts or employ staff in its own name

• whether the trustees will be personally liable for what the charity does

There are four main types of charity structure:

Page 1 of 5Charity types: how to choose a structure (CC22a) - GOV.UK

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• charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)

• charitable company (limited by guarantee)

• unincorporated association

• trust

You need to choose the right structure for your charity, depending on whether you need it to have a corporate

structure and whether you want to have a wider membership.

About corporate structures

Some charity structures are corporate bodies. If you choose a structure that forms a corporate body, the law

considers your charity to be a person in the same way as an individual.

This gives your charity the legal capacity to do many things in its own name that a person can do, such as:

• employing paid staff

• delivering charitable services under contractual agreements

• entering into commercial contracts in its own name

• owning freehold or leasehold land or other property

If a charity structure is a corporate body, generally its trustees aren’t personally liable for what it does.

If your charity isn’t a corporate body (‘unincorporated’):

• the trustees are personally liable for what it does

• it won’t be able to enter into contracts or control some investments in its own name

• two or more trustees, a corporate custodian trustee or the charities’ land holding service will have to

‘hold’ any land on your charity’s behalf

About charities with a wider membership

Some charity structures have a wider membership. If you set up a charity with a wider membership, it can

have members who vote on important decisions (usually at AGMs). For example:

• appointing committee members who will run the charity (usually for fixed terms)

• making changes to the charity’s governing document

A charity with a wider membership may carry out its work wholly or partly through the voluntary effort and

contributions of its members. Having people your charity helps as members can help you take account of their

views.

If you set up a charity with a wider membership, it mustn’t be set up only for the benefit of your members

unless:

• a sufficient section of the public can access those benefits by becoming members – for example, anyone

can join

• the membership structure is a suitable way of carrying out your charity’s purposes for the public benefit –

for example, members of an amateur sport club

Some charity structures don’t have wider members – the trustees decide how their charity is run and make all

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decisions on:

• how it spends its money

• how new trustees are appointed

Charities with a corporate structure: which type to choose

With wider membership

Set up an association CIO if you want your charity to be a corporate body and have a wider membership,

including voting members other than the charity trustees. You must:

• have a constitution as your governing document – use the Charity Commission’s model association CIO

constitution (or stay very close to it)

• register your CIO with the commission for it to legally come into existence

• keep a register of its members and trustees

• send its accounts and annual return to the commission each year, regardless of its income

Alternatively, you could set up a charitable company: a corporate body which can be set up with or without a

wider membership. Choose articles of association as your governing document.

Charitable companies can never be the same as commercial companies. Unlike commercial companies, a

charitable company:

• can’t distribute its surpluses to its members or shareholders – a charitable company is usually limited by

guarantee, not shares

• can only apply its assets to carry out its charitable purposes

• must operate in a way which is in the best interests of the charity

You must register your charitable company with both the commission (if eligible) and Companies House.

You’ll also need to provide detailed information on its finances and activities each year.

Without wider membership

Set up a foundation CIO if you want your charity to be a corporate body, the only members are the trustees

and you don’t want a wider membership. You must:

• have a constitution as your governing document – use the commission’s model foundation CIO

constitution (or stay very close to it)

• register your CIO with the commission for it to legally come into existence

• keep a register of its trustees (who are also the members)

• send its accounts and annual return to the commission each year, regardless of its income

If you are an existing charity wishing to convert to a CIO structure, choose the CIO model constitution which

best matches your original charity. Use the association model if your original unincorporated charity:

• has a constitution as its governing document

• has a wider membership which votes on important decisions, such as electing trustees or committee

members

Use the foundation model if your original charity:

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• is governed by a trust deed, will, scheme or conveyance

• is run solely by its trustees

• doesn’t have a voting membership

Complete the appropriate CIO constitution template as your new CIO’s governing document. Once the

trustees agree the constitution, register your new CIO with the commission.

Whichever CIO model constitution you choose, if in the future you decide that the other constitution better suits

your charity, you can amend your constitution to make the changes.

Charities without a corporate structure: which type to choose

With wider membership

Set up an unincorporated association if you want your charity to have a wider membership but it doesn’t need

a corporate structure (for example, if it will be relatively small in terms of assets). Choose a constitution as

your governing document.

Without wider membership

Set up a trust if your charity doesn’t need a corporate structure or a wider membership. For example, if it:

• is unlikely to employ a significant number of staff or carry on any kind of business

• makes grants but doesn’t do any other type of work

Choose a trust deed as your governing document. It must specify a sum of money, land or some other assets

that your charity will start with (it doesn’t matter how much). Otherwise you won’t be able to register it with the

commission.

How to write your governing document

Write your governing document once you’ve decided on a structure. This needs to set out your charity’s

purposes and how it will be run. Read How to write your charity’s governing document (https://www.gov.uk/how-

to-write-your-charitys-governing-document) for more information.

How to change your charity’s structure

A charity can usually change its structure if its trustees decide that a new structure would better suit the way it

plans to operate.

This can be complex depending on what you want to do. Read Change your charity’s structure

(https://www.gov.uk/change-your-charity-structure) for more information.

Published 30 May 2014

Last updated 4 November 2014 + show all updates

1. 4 November 2014 Added translation

2. 30 May 2014 First published.

Related content

• Set up a charity (https://www.gov.uk/setting-up-charity)

Page 4 of 5Charity types: how to choose a structure (CC22a) - GOV.UK

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Detailed guidance

• How to transfer charity assets (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-transfer-charity-assets)

• Get funding to start a charity (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-funding-to-start-a-charity)

• How to set up a charity (CC21a) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-set-up-a-charity-cc21a)

• How to register a charity (CC21b) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-register-your-charity-cc21b)

Explore the topic

• Managing your charity (https://www.gov.uk/topic/running-charity/managing-charity)

• Setting up a charity (https://www.gov.uk/topic/running-charity/setting-up)

Page 5 of 5Charity types: how to choose a structure (CC22a) - GOV.UK

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Rogate Community Land Trust (CLT) Scoping Report

March 2018

Introduction

Rogate CLT is a steering group of local residents who have come together through a shared set of concerns

about local needs for affordable housing and the future of their village and the neighbouring village

Trotton. The CLT is currently made up residents from both villages which are also parishes which lie in the

north west corner of Chichester District, West Sussex. Both parishes are located within the South Downs

National Park (SDNP)

This steering group has identified the CLT model as being the most appropriate vehicle through which to

galvanise their ideas and present an alternative delivery option to the Parish Council and wider community.

The group met with Tom Warder, CLT Advisor at Sussex Community Housing Hub on22nd February 2018 to

discuss their ideas, understand more about CLTs and form themselves as Rogate and Trotton CLT Steering

Group. Prior to this meeting Tom has also attended a parish council meeting in the village to talk about

community led housing in 2016. At each meeting the CLT concept was well received and a lively Q and A

session and discussion ensued. This scoping report was produced following these meetings.

Community Led Development

Community-led action, providing solutions to local problems through the development of Neighbourhood

Plans and Community-led Housing is all formalised in the Localism Act 2011. There are 225 Community

Land Trusts in England and Wales, half of which formed in the last two years (see

www.communitylandtrusts.org.uk) The Community Land Trust (CLT) model has been developed in the US,

and the movement has grown to include over 300 different CLTs across the country. Community Land

Trusts are powerful examples of communities taking control and transforming the future of their local

community. They are non-profit, community-based organisations that develop housing, workspace,

community facilities and other assets that meet the needs of the community, are owned and controlled by

the community and are made available at permanently affordable levels. Community-led action provides

added economic, social and environmental benefits. Through community led activity, local skills and talent

are harnessed and strong local partnerships are created. They help to attract investment into areas, and

can help bring forward land, buildings and a host of local procurement opportunities. Sussex communities

are now gathering momentum and recognising CLTs as the means to achieve their aims of providing locally

affordable homes and ensuring the long term stewardship of these and other community assets.

National CLT Context

Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are charities or not for profit social enterprises which develop and

permanently protect locally affordable homes for their communities (as defined in the 2008 Housing Act).

They are supported by the National CLT Network which provides start up grants and resources, and by the

CLT Fund which provides pre-development and development loans. CLTs have become an important

component in the response to Britain’s housing crisis, the CLT enabler services delivered by regional Hubs

and National CLT Network provide communities with the know how to deliver successful schemes. CLT

communities also benefit from the vital lobbying, start-up funding and information services provided by

the National CLT Network which has led to the launch of a special new Community Housing Fund, a 5 year

programme of support for community led housing which is now underway.

Working together the CLT enablers and Network have acquired extensive experience with a variety of

different delivery models making it easier to deliver new CLTs. In fact CLTs are needed more than ever.

Local Authorities and communities face a crisis where the supply of conventional affordable housing is

under threat from the effects of the extended right to Buy, Welfare Reform rent reductions and

channelling of grant into home ownership models which are failing those in need of truly affordable

housing. The CLT Network is lobbying for exemptions, but meanwhile CLT enablers have developed lease

and cross subsidy models which offer permanent affordability tuned to local incomes.

CLTs offer even more than this with groups now developing a more sustainable vision of community which

they believe is needed to meet the challenges of our times - harnessing surpluses, improving affordability,

creating mutual support, embracing new build methods, including food and energy production and

community facilities - creating truly sustainable neighbourhoods.

The Place

Rogate is a village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, in the Western Rother

valley. The village is on the A272 road 5.6 miles (9.0 km) west of Midhurst and 5 miles (8.0 km) east of

Petersfield, Hampshire. The civil parish includes the villages of Rogate and Rake and the hamlets of Haben,

Fyning, Hill Brow, Langley, Durford, Wenham, Durleighmarsh and Terwick Common. The population in the

2011 census was 1,566. Trotton with Chithurst is a civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex,

England. Trotton is on the A272 road ten kilometres west of Midhurst. Chithurst is about one mile north

west of Trotton. The parish also contains the hamlet of Dumpford. The population in the 2011 census was

329

Affordable housing need

A parish Housing Needs Survey (HNS) was undertaken by the Rural Housing Enabler (Holly Nichol) of

Chichester District Council in September 2017 which had a very good response rate of 38% of the

households surveyed. There was a strong level of support for the principle of some local needs affordable

housing being provided with 87% of respondents supporting this idea. The summary of estimated need is

as follows;

· 3 – 8 market units

· 10 – 15 affordable rented units

· 0 – 10 shared ownership units

· 0 – 6 market rented units

The CLT group and key issues identified

The Rogate CLT group is currently made up of eight local residents who are motivated to address

affordable housing needs in their village. They have yet to fully articulate their vision for the CLT but the

group are concerned about the loss of young people and families in the village and the effect this could

have on the community. At the inaugural meeting of the CLT on 22nd February 2018, all those present said

a few words about their connection to Rogate / Trotton and their reason for getting involved in a local CLT.

All those present expressed a long held concern about the demographic profile of the village and the need

to enable young people to live locally, for the health of the community and to support the local primary

schools. The following issues and concerns were identified by the group;

It is unhealthy and unfair not to have a mixed community; smaller and social housing stock has virtually

disappeared; becoming a commuter village; the formation of the SDNP has served to increase house prices

and compound affordability problems for local people who are priced out; many young families are still

living at home with parents; how does the village attract teachers and essential workers?. There was also

concern expressed about the threat posed to the two local schools as many of those moving in were

affluent families who tended to send their children to private schools. There is also the common issue in

rural areas of older people living in larger houses (three bed plus) who need to downsize but are unable to.

There is a range of skills and experience in the group including those who have worked in the local shop,

schools and youth club as well as those who serve on their respective Parish Councils and have been school

governors. Two members of the group have a legal background and one has been involved in the provision

of sheltered housing in the village also.

At the meeting the following key roles were agreed upon;

Chair: Elizabeth Brown

Secretary: Mairi Rennie

Treasurer: Paddy Walker

Primary and secondary objectives

The group’s primary objective is to provide some affordable housing for local people in perpetuity via the

CLT route. They are potentially interested in other local needs housing provision should a suitable site be

identified. Beyond this they would like to be able to support other key local assets should the need to arise.

They can see how a CLT might be able to offer this protection and possibly improve local facilities. They can

also see how it might unlock the use of other parcels of privately owned land. The current focus however is

to provide an affordable local needs housing scheme in the village.

Current proposals

The group have yet to identify a site or to approach the main local landowner although they are optimistic

about this landowner’s willingness to consider their ideas.

The groups’ achievements so far

The group are aware that they are at the beginning of their journey as a CLT. Nonetheless, they have

managed to both educate themselves and raise awareness amongst others in the community about the

CLT model and how it might work for Rogate. This has led to a core group of local people who are willing to

drive the project forward and who have now identified individuals prepared to take up the key roles of

secretary, treasure and chair. They have also secured support of the Parish Council as formally noted on …

Chichester District Council have also demonstrated their support for Community led housing through their

various initiatives in the district relating to the promotion of CLTs. The group has had some support from

Holly Nichol at CDC to this effect, including the housing needs survey.

Chichester District Council and the South Downs National Park Authority

Chichester District Council - as the local housing authority - are supportive of community led housing and

the CLT approach to meeting local housing needs as is clear in their housing policy and practice. They have

also indicated that they will support CLTs in the district with various pre-development and capital costs

using their allocation of Community Housing Funds. Unlike other local authorities in the district however

they do not currently support the Sussex Community Housing Hub operated by Action in rural Sussex

(AirS). This does therefore restrict the amount of technical advice and enabling support that the Hub is able

to provide free of charge.

The South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) - as the local planning authority - is also very supportive

of the CLT model as evident in its emerging Local Plan and other policy documentation. Community led

housing and CLTs were championed at the SDNPA landowner’s conference in March 2017 and there

remains a strong commitment to collaborative working to realise successful community led schemes in the

park as demonstrated by other projects the Hub is involved with across Sussex. The SDNPA is keen to

explore models such as CLTs which are more likely to be well designed and executed given the locally

distinctive and considered nature of this kind of community led development.

SWOT analysis

Strengths

• The group is able, well organised and is committed to serving its community.

• Members of the Steering Group have a range of relevant skills and experience to support the work

of the CLT and this project.

• The group has been successful in creating a debate within the wider community through a series of

meetings.

• It is well linked to the Parish Councils and other community based organisations.

• The group is able to access CLT specific project development support from Sussex Community

Housing Hub (subject to terms being agreed).

• The Local Planning Authority (SDNPA) are supportive of the CLT Model

• The Local Housing Authority Chichester District Council are also supportive of the CLT approach.

Weaknesses

• The group has no experience in housing development.

• There is not yet a willing landowner who is supportive of the CLT approach and has a viable site for

a CLT development.

Opportunities

• The local landowner is thought to be amenable to working with the community / emerging CLT

group to make the project happen.

• There is an opportunity to provide a truly sustainable development based on genuine affordability,

excellent design, build methods and community engagement.

• Using rent surpluses to fund community services / projects.

• Combining affordable housing provision with the provision of or enhancement of other community

assets in due course.

• The group is open to research eco-build and system build methods which may introduce savings in

the business plan and make the scheme attractive and affordable to live in.

Threats

• The Local Planning Authority do not support the site

• They are unable to gain support from a landowner for the endeavour and to find a suitable site

• The wider community object to the development

What are the next things the group needs to do or consider to drive the project forward?

• Establishing good governance within the Steering Group and agreeing some basic terms of

reference, which will allow them to get organised and to attract further funding (done);

• Consider which is the most suitable legal form to adopt and consider governance issues;

• Establish itself as a legally constituted entity, either a Company Limited by Guarantee, Community

Interest Company or a Community Benefit Society;

• Engage with the community to garner support for the CLT and its housing project and to develop a

broad based community membership;

• Maintain a positive and open dialogue with the Parish Councils about the CLT and emerging project;

• Produce a flyer, leaflet or basic prospectus which sets out the vision and purpose of the CLT;

• Undertake a skills audit and seek additional board members and associates accordingly;

• Become a member of the National CLT Network;

• Open a bank account and begin fundraising to support the further development of the project;

• Meet with the landowner and his representatives to establish a partnership approach and discuss

the project plan.

• Seek further support from Sussex Community Housing Hub (SCHH) to;

- Guide them through the process of incorporation as a Community Benefit Society

- Advise on good governance and community engagement

- Produce a project plan and next steps required to implement this

- Engage with landowners and support negotiations with these

- Consider delivery options for a first project, e.g.: stand-alone vs partnership model CLT

- Undertake Business planning: help prepare a scheme appraisal, identify project finance and

procure a professional team to make the scheme happen.

Support from the National CLT Network and other funders

Rogate CLT are a strong and well organised group who are committed to setting up a CLT with the primary

aim of providing affordable homes for the community. They have established strong links to the wider

community and are seeking to work in partnership with the Parish Council and a local landowner to realise

their aims. I am confident that they are capable of delivering a successful scheme, and therefore am

confident in recommending them for support from the National CLT Network and other funding bodies.

Tom Warder (Sussex Community Housing Hub) March 2018.

Rural Broadband for RotherValleyRob Merrick

Mobile: 07841 230792

What is the problem?

• Current Superfast broadband supplied by Openreach network relies on copper telephone lines.

• Telephone lines are old and lots of joints in them that reduce speed.

• In 2015 BT Openreach installed Fibre To The Cabinet at Iping cross roads supported by West Sussex with promise of Superfast Broadband. At the time BT promised 24Mb/s, guaranteed 15Mb/s but actual speed 8Mb/s

• Todays demands for Superfast broadband are growing, on demand HD and 4K HD TV, Gaming, Cloud Computing, Netflix, etc.

• Community business need Superfast broadband to survive in the 21st

Century. Everything is done on line, farming, etc.

Why will BT not supply it?

• Number of households per Sq Km in Chichester is 1048

• Number of households per Sq Km in Trotton/Chithurst Parish is 20

• Cost of rolling out Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) is expensive in rural areas, some are being quoted £39K!! https://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/7980-the-fod-dream-becomes-a-fod-nightmare

• It is only cost effective in areas like Chichester for Openreach/ Virgin to provide FTTP.

So what is the answer?

• One possible solutions is to do it ourselves

• An example that has worked is B4RN in Lancashire https://b4rn.org.uk

• This is a community project, they have a household density of approximately 8 per Sq Km.

• They have done the work themselves: Designed the network, raised the funds, laid the Fibre, built the Cabinets etc.

• Their goal is EVERY household can be provided FTTP, no one is left out.

How do we go about it?

• We need to get the interest of other Parishes and the people in those Parishes.

• We need to use the same model as B4RN so that land owners can see it is done for the good of the community and NOT for profit. Therefore it will be easier to get permission to run Fibres across their land for FREE!!

• I suggest a cooperative specifically for this project, because it will be an Internet Service Provider and will have to follow certain rules.

• Use the same method used by B4RN to sell shares to raise the funds which are eligible for EIS tax relief.

What speed and how much will it cost?

• The internet speed will be 1Gbps (1000Mbps), around 100 times faster than current available.

• It will be 1Gbps upload and download to the Internet (BT FTTP offer 330Mbps download, 50Mbps download).

• Target costs per user £30/month £150 installation same as B4RN. BT charge £45/month for up to 76Mbps

• The network will be future proof, speeds can be increased to 10Gbps, 100Gbps without changing the Fibre infrastructure.

Next steps

• Raise the interest with other Parishes and people in the Parishes.

• Visit B4RN to learn from them, they have an show and tell day on the 28th March at Melling, Lancashire. They will be running others.

• Set up a group to lead the project if there is enough interest.

Questions?