A message from Fran Ryan our Board and Founding Member…….

Not quite the traditional Christmas image…..
But one that seems to speak of deep mid winter which seems just right for now. It also forms the backdrop to our Christmas video which you can see on You Tube here.

The video is a bit of fun which we hope you’ll enjoy but it also has a serious message: we are really pushing the share offer. We are delighted with progress so far, thanks to those of you who have already invested. As I write it’s going up slowly but surely….. a pleasing 43%. But I’m not relaxing, as it takes 20 people investing the minimum (£250) to push it up 1%. So we still have a long way to go…

So about the message in the video… this is a time of year when some people want to hibernate… others want to go a bit wild with the Christmas shopping. But I have never known a year like it in my relatively long lifetime…….(73 and a half). This year there are more people than ever, most of them working full time and more, who don’t have enough to eat and don’t have a secure and decent place to call home.

The Community Land Trust sector across the country is doing something about this by creating a sector of homes that are permanently affordable for local people…… we are still very small but with your help we can grow.

Many can’t afford to buy the minimum number of shares at £250. I know it’s a lot of money. So I am asking people to invest if they can, but if they can’t and they’re not already a member then maybe they can afford the £1 to join up here. It’s just as important to grow our membership as to gather in the investment.

And if you/they can’t afford £1, then as the song says ‘May your god bless you’.

Thanks to Nick Hayes for giving permission to OCLT to use a copy of his beautiful print.