Welcome to the Stoke Gabriel Community Land Trust

We are a group of people living in Stoke Gabriel, with jobs and families here. We’ve come together to find an answer to the lack of genuinely affordable housing in the village. To do this we’ve formed the Stoke Gabriel Community Land Trust (SGCLT), which is a Community Benefit Society – run for the benefit of the community with any profits re-invested back in the community.

Our vision is to provide much needed homes for people on a low to middle income, who live, work and have family connections in Stoke Gabriel. These are for people who fall in the gap between being able to buy on the open market and being eligible for housing association properties.

We need your support

Stoke Gabriel is a thriving, much-loved place, built on generations of people who live, work, care for others, and contribute to community life. Yet the rapid increase in land and house prices over recent years mean that many local people - young families, key workers, people who grew up here - can no longer afford to remain in the village.

For those who do manage to stay, renting is often the only option. While privately rented homes play an important role, they can also bring significant insecurity. Tenancies may be short-term, rents can rise and residents can be required to move on for reasons entirely outside their control. This uncertainty makes it difficult for people to put down roots, plan for the future or feel truly settled in the place they call home.

These pressures are not unique to our village. South Hams District Council has formally declared a housing crisis, recognising that the lack of genuinely affordable, secure homes is having a serious impact on local communities, the local workforce and the long-term sustainability of villages like ours.

Stoke Gabriel Community Land Trust was established to respond to these challenges in a practical, positive way. Our purpose is to deliver genuinely affordable homes, secure for the long term, so that local people can continue to live and contribute here. This is not about expansion for its own sake, but about sustaining the social fabric of the village and ensuring it remains a living, working community rather than one that slowly prices out those who make it function.

To achieve this, we are seeking land that could be suitable for affordable housing. Land made available to SGCLT would be used to meet identified local housing need, with homes remaining affordable in perpetuity and allocated according to clear local connection criteria. Any development would be sensitively designed, appropriately scaled, and shaped through community engagement.

We would welcome confidential discussions with any landowners willing to explore this opportunity further. No commitment is assumed by making contact, and all conversations will be treated with discretion.

Together, we can ensure that our village remains a place where people can live, thrive, and belong. We have full support in the form of expertise and funding from SHDC and we are set to go – the only thing stopping us make affordable housing a much-needed reality is suitable land. We very much hope you can help.

Our vision is to provide much needed homes for people on a low to middle income, who live, work and have family connections in Stoke Gabriel. These are for people who fall in the gap between being able to buy on the open market and being eligible for housing association properties.

“CLT affordable housing, starts and ends with local people, rather than profits and share prices.”

What’s different about CLT housing?

CLT housing pays close attention to local housing need, is innovative, built to high standards, uses environmentally sensitive designs, and is most importantly affordable. It gives priority to providing homes for local people which they can call their home their own for as long as they wish.

When people live in affordable homes positive things happen. Relieved from the stress of high rents, there is at last opportunity to save money, undertake education and training and to confidently get on with their lives, knowing they can stay in their local community.  

People who meet the criteria for affordable housing would have a variety of options to choose from, including social/intermediate rent (to be confirmed) and shared ownership.

We are working in collaboration with South Hams District Council, who will provide financial support and critical expertise to help bring any development to life.