News: CCLT plans laid out

At a 40-strong meeting last night, Secretary of Chilbolton Community Land Trust, Martin Gossling, laid out the path to growing its roster of members and appointing a board of Trustees.

It was an informal meeting, where he described the progress so far and the plans for the coming months.

CCLT currently has four appointed officers who will all stand down at the first Annual General Meeting, which will happen in the next twelve months. At that meeting new Trustees will be voted in by the trust’s members.

Mr Gossling repeatedly emphasised how important it was that the membership should be widely representative of the people of Chilbolton. His aim, he said, was to grow from approximately 35 people who have already signed up, to 100 by the end of March, with more people joining up after that. On a show of hands, this aspiration was overwhelmingly endorsed.

He explained that sign-up is a simple matter - the CCLT webpage has an easy-to-complete form - and he also had paper application forms to hand.

Members will have the power to shape the Trust’s structure and operation. The “interim” rules are only a starting point, and they will have the opportunity to vote on amendments to it.

The tasks facing CCLT are:

  • Acquire land to build on
  • Raise funds for the construction of affordable homes
  • Put in place people to manage the project
  • Build the homes

To do this, CCLT will need Trustees. Mr Gossling explained that in the current rules these are referred to as “Directors”, because their responsibilities are the same. He expected that there would need to be between six and twelve trustees. Already nine people have expressed an interest in being one.

The roles would cover:

  • Chair, or Managing Director
  • Finance
  • Project management
  • Facilities management for the new homes
  • Administration
  • Legal

The next steps would be a more formal meeting, hopefully in April.

Throughout the meeting, Mr Gossling emphasised that members have the chance to shape how Chilbolton Community Land Trust will work. The more people who sign up, he said, the more valuable the project would be for the people of Chilbolton.