Westbourne celebrates first purpose built community-led affordable housing scheme in Chichester District

Published 16:21 on 21 Nov 2025

 A ground-breaking £3.6m community-led project to deliver 12 new affordable homes for local people in Westbourne has now been completed by Westbourne Community Trust.

 Located in Westbourne and named Hitchcock Close in memory of a founding trustee, the development includes six one-bed homes, four two-bed homes and two three-bed homes. Construction began late last year, and the projects completion was celebrated by partners at a special event to welcome the new tenants on 21 November 2025.

 The project was led by Westbourne Community Trust, a group of local residents who formed this community group seven years ago with the intention of providing affordable homes for local people and community projects to improve the quality of life in Westbourne.

 The Trust received support from Chichester District Council, which provided both the land for the development and grant funding to assist with construction costs. Additional support was also provided by Westbourne Parish Council, the South Downs National Park Authority, The St Marys Hospital Trust, and Homes England.

 Westbourne is the first Community Land Trust in the Chichester District to build its own homes. The completed scheme offers housing for local residents who cannot afford to buy or rent on the open market, with the rent set at approximately 55% of market rent levels for the area. These homes will never be subject to the right to buy and will be retained permanently for social rent.

 In addition to providing 12 homes, the Trust has upgraded the adjoining park with new play equipment and facilities. It has also provided a storage building for the benefit of the Westbourne Allotment Association and Westbourne Parish Council.

 After seven years of hard work, we are absolutely delighted with the completed scheme, said Frank Campbell, Chair of the Westbourne Community Trust. As in many communities across the South of England, the cost of purchasing or renting a home in the open market in Westbourne is out of reach for many young people or families. Finding an affordable place where you were raised has become increasingly impossible. This destabilises communities and forces young people to move away in search of cheaper accommodation. It can also mean that young adults are sofa surfing or continuing to live in the home of their parents in sometimes overcrowded accommodation.

 We were always confident that the demand for these new homes existed and when the application process was opened, we received 35 valid applications for the 12 new homes. After a thorough assessment process using the Trusts Allocations Policy, we selected those tenants to be offered new homes. We had some very difficult decisions to make and unfortunately there are some disappointed applicants who will continue to be in need of an affordable home. However, we welcome our new tenants into their homes, and we hope it makes a big difference to their lives and that they are very happy to settle in. The feedback from the new tenants, as well as from the wider community of Westbourne, has been very positive in terms of the internal quality and the external appearance of the new homes.

 We would like to thank those involved, especially members of the Westbourne community the Parish Council and Chichester District Council who have been incredibly supportive and helpful.

 One of the new tenants looking forward to her new home is Holly: I feel incredibly grateful to be selected for a tenancy. I fall into that category of earning too much for government housing help, but too little to afford private housing in this area. This will give me my first opportunity to live on my own, somewhere affordable and with security while remaining in the area I have grown up in.

 Another new resident said: We understand how difficult the decision must have been for the Westbourne Community Trust, and so we are extremely grateful that we have been given this opportunity. We are very excited to move in and enjoy this brand-new property that has clearly been built to a very high standard. The impact it will have on our family is immense. For a very long time we have been living in overcrowded circumstances. This has been having an impact on school, work and family life. We will be very pleased to have enough space to enjoy family life again.

 This scheme is part of a wider effort by Chichester District Council to support community-led housing across the district.

 Councillor Oona Hickson, Cabinet Member for Housing, Revenues and Benefits at Chichester District Council, said: Providing affordable housing is vital to ensure that young people and families — including key workers and those brought up locally — can continue living and working in the place where they grew up, and community-led schemes such as this one are an important tool to help meet this need.

 In rural locations, registered housing providers often find it difficult to deliver new housing schemes especially on small sites in rural communities. This is why Community Land Trusts (CLTs) play such a vital role, and why the council has been so pleased to support Westbourne Community Trust. To help deliver this fantastic project, the council provided the land on which the new homes have been built, awarded grant funding, and worked closely with the Trust to help them achieve their goals.

 This project shows what can be achieved when we all work together, and Id like to take the opportunity to thank Westbourne Community Trust and all the individuals and organisations that have worked incredibly hard to make this vision a reality. We know this work will help Westbourne continue to thrive and will make a lasting and long-term difference to local people.

 Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are set up and run by local people to develop and manage homes, as well as other assets important to their community — such as pubs, shops, workspaces, or community facilities. A CLT acts as the long-term steward of these assets, providing affordable homes in local communities where the cost of housing is high and where it is difficult to bring forward new housing due to high land values.

 Communities interested in setting up their own affordable housing projects are encouraged to contact Chichester District Councils Housing Delivery Team for advice. There are many different ways for communities to set up their own housing projects. Examples of projects include community-owned rented housing; low-cost housing for sale; housing co-operatives; self-build schemes; co-ownership; and housing for older people. For more details, visit: www.chichester.gov.uk/communit...

 Anyone interested in finding out more about the Westbourne community-led housing scheme and Westbourne CLT can visit: www.westbournecommunitytrust.o...