Project Director: Yael Arbell
Project Duration: 2022-2024

This is an action-research project, initiated by sector practitioners with lived experience of racial inequity in CLH. The project aims to understand the opportunities and challenges for black and minority ethnic community-led housing, and inform policy and practice to improve equity in the CLH development. The research involved interviews with a wide range of sector stakeholders and members of eight communities from across England, as well as a workshop with participants on the final report.

The research found low representation of black and minority in CLH, especially in leadership positions, and a lack of awareness of CLH in minority communities, as well as little acknowledgement and awareness of past success of BAME-led CLH. The research also identified challenges in access to funding, and a lack of data collected on the racial and ethnic profile of funded communities.

The research produced a set of recommendations for sector representatives, funders, and policy makers at local, regional and national scales, with the aim of encouraging growth and transformation of the black and minority community-led housing sector. Recommendations include a call to infrastructure bodies to develop a strategy to grow the number of BME CLH projects and advisors; to raise awareness to funding opportunities and ringfence funding for minority ethnic CLH; to collect data on EDI in funding allocation; to adapt delivery models to benefit minority communities, including work with grassroots organisations on small sites. The research is funded by Nationwide Foundation, Tudor Trust, Power to Change, the Community Land Trust Network and the community led housing sector including East Midlands Community Led Housing, and supported by Confederation of Co-operative Housing.

The project team also included Claude Hendrickson (Leeds Community Homes), Henri Baptiste (Pathway Housing Solutions) and Tom Moore (University of Liverpool).