Development has started on an innovative community-led housebuilding project which intends to offer a solution to the housing crisis.

A small group of 12 affordable homes will be built on an area of neglected and overgrown land previously owned by Cherwell District Council in in Hook Norton.

The project has been led by the Hook Norton Community Land Trust (HNCLT) and has been five years in the making.  

READ MORE: Plans for eight homes in village near Didcot withdrawn

“The homes will be based on the needs of the community, already identified through extensive consultation meetings and designed to encourage social contact and community spirit,” a statement on the group’s website said.

“The homes will have a carbon positive impact on the environment and will benefit from renewable energy systems and low carbon transport options.”

Community trusts like the HNCLT are formed of local people who want to take control and transform the future of their communities.

Set up in June 2019, the HNCLT took ownership of the overgrown land to the east of Hook Norton Sports & Social Club behind Bourne Lane with the intention of enabling villagers who needed housing to remain in the community.

On a rain-sodden July 14, to mark the start of the development, the HNCLT and partners from Greencore Homes, Soha, Cherwell District Council, and members of the community visited the development site and celebrated at the sports and social club.

The trust urged anyone interested in investing in or volunteering with the project to get in touch at: hello@hooknortonclt.org.uk