The Saxonvale housing initiative discussed in John Harris’s column (How one English town fought cookie-cutter housing by daring to dream a different future, 10 December) will not be unique as a large-scale community-led, mixed-use development, though its winding tale will make it a first of its kind.
Across England, more than 2,000 homes have been developed by community land trusts in the past decade, three-quarters in partnership with private developers and housing associations. A 500-home garden village is being built by a national housebuilder in Cambridgeshire, co-designed by the community land trust, which will take ownership of all the open space and amenities, and half of the affordable homes, as they are completed.
