Bernie Sanders, US Senator
“When Oxfordshire CLT was set up back in the noughties, it was partly inspired by Burlington CLT in Vermont which I helped to finance when I was mayor in the 80s. Burlington has now become part of Champlain CLT and this is the biggest CLT in US.
Another connection with Oxfordshire CLT is that my brother Larry was a Director of OCLT for many years until he retired in 2019.
I’d like to congratulate Oxfordshire CLT on finally building their first permanently affordable homes on the edge of the city. And I know they are keen to gradually create a sector of such homes across the county and this will make a big difference to the key workers who need affordable homes.
I wish them luck with their Community Share Offer and I encourage you to invest! The only way to solve the housing crisis both in the US and UK is to create a decent sized sector of permanently affordable homes.” (November 2022)
Sophi
“I work 60 hours a week most weeks….I am currently on the Council’s Housing List… I’m told I’m not a priority and that I should move to Swindon…. I can’t do that because I care for my disabled grandmother… I saved up enough for a 10% deposit for a flat but was told that since I’m on minimum wage I wouldn’t be able to borrow enough”.
Jane Carlton Smith
“I invested in OCLT because I love to make smallish ethical investments via the Ethex platform and this was right up my street (excuse the pun). Having spent half my working life developing social housing, I am acutely aware of the huge need for more affordable housing. When I first worked in the 70s, the generous Government support that housing associations received enabled them to let their properties at affordable rents, more or less in line with Council rents. That all came to end, as all good things do, and housing associations had to borrow money on the markets to continue their activities. Rents had to repay these loans and, inevitably, went up a great deal. The rents described as ‘affordable’ or ‘social’ these days are much more expensive than Council rents and definitely not affordable for many, especially since the advent of Universal Credit. A Community Land Trust such as this is a brilliant way to provide housing at genuinely affordable rents. Private investors such as myself can lend smallish amounts of money and add to an ethical portfolio. I have invested £500 so far. I would strongly encourage other small investors to dive in and support this brilliant scheme, which hopefully will be the first of many, in years to come.” (January 2023)
Rachel
“…to prevent people from being homeless, that’s massive. We need more places like that….. if that succeeded and that really worked, there would be more built….. There just needs to be more places for people, there shouldn’t be homeless people, not in 2022.”
Shirley Holmes
“I’m supporting OCLT because I want to end homelessness in Oxfordshire for good. It’s time to put local people in charge of local housing, and OCLT is part of the change we need.” (January 2023)
Karen
“I was evicted from my place about two years ago. I became homeless in Oxford…. When you’re on the streets, you are lonely and you don’t know many people to trust…. Everybody needs help with something, you know if you can just start with 8 and build it up… the waiting lists are very long”