We are going through the final stages of creating a Community Land Trust for Bradford Abbas. This is a vehicle by which projects can be carried out on behalf of the people resident in the area. It is a legal entity which can invest in and support any work that the community considers worthwhile as decided by the members of the Trust. Anyone resident in the parish can join the Trust by buying a share for £1 and hence have a say in what the trust supports. This support includes sourcing funds and Project Managing work. One obvious area that we might address is the provision of affordable housing for village local people. The Parish Council has already done some work on this so the Trust could be picking that up. Other projects that Trusts elsewhere have got involved in include setting up Community Shops, provision of car parks and recreational facilities so there is lots of potential.
We had intended to have a public meeting to kick off the Trust, but this is obviously difficult at the moment. However, we don’t want to just sit around waiting for the Covid 19 problems to resolve themselves before getting underway, so can I ask anyone who would like to consider getting involved to contact me as below. The more people that support the Trust the better and the more ideas we can get about how to progress this powerful community asset.
Dick Bennett - Chairman
01935 474306