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EAST BERGHOLT PARISH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE EXTRAORDINARY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
Thursday 19 February 2026 at The Lambe School, Gaston Street, East
Bergholt

Present – Parish Councillors
Councillor J Miller (Chair of the Council)
Councillor N Roberts (Vice-Chair of the Council)
Councillor R Allen
Councillor M Burns
Councillor S Davies
Councillor R Elmer
Councillor M Hockley
Councillor M Hurley
Councillor L Matthews
Councillor J Price
Councillor R Smith
Councillor G Woodcock

In Attendance
G White, Parish Clerk
N Downton, Chair, East Bergholt Community Land Trust (EBCLT)
R Althen, Trustee, EBCLT

OPEN PUBLIC SESSION

The Chair welcomed Nigel Downton and Rolf Althen to the meeting and invited them to
address the Council.

Nigel Downton, as Chair of the CLT recounted that despite having tried for various projects,
the CLT has been unsuccessful and presently has no assets. The catalyst required for a
project is land and the CLT cannot afford to buy land and build at commercial rates. They
have engaged with local landowners but none seem willing to sell land at present at an
affordable price. Any suitably priced land will probably not be in the development envelope of
the village. The search for land has proved to be a thankless task thus far and without the
current proposal, the CLT has no assets.

Initially the proposal was for a pair of three bedroomed semi-detached houses, but one has
now been sold. The CLT has a reservation on the other one until Monday 23 February. This
is the last house of this type on the estate. If the proposal proceeds completion is expected
towards the end of April/beginning of May. The house from David Wilson Homes would give
the CLT credibility and a balance sheet which could be leveraged to build further affordable
rent homes

The CLT has a housing needs list and a fair selection policy will need to be employed with
the key selection criterion that the person must have a strong connection to the local
community. The house would be rented at a social rent level and there would be no right to

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buy. Babergh DC’s housing needs list covers a wider area which may result in an allocation
to a non-local family. The CLT’s list would not.

To be able to acquire this property would put the CLT in business and enable it to kick on
from there.

CLT had also engaged with Hills but they are not prepared to talk until their Stage 2 planning
application is determined.

Rolf Althen emphasised that there was no right to buy on any CLT property. The CLT was not
a charity but had charitable objects and HMRC looked upon it as a charitable enterprise.
There is in place an asset lock whereby the proceeds of an asset if sold would have to be
invested in similar assets. There would be no distribution to shareholders. Any surplus upon
liquidation would have to be applied to similar charitable purposes.

Councillor Smith asked Mr Downton to explain precisely what he was asking for as the
proposal had changed from that in the written application.
Nigel Downton said that originally the proposal was for two houses at £700,000, a
discounted price for the EBCLT, the price of one to be sought from the Parish Council and
the other from Babergh DC. This was now reduced to one house as the other had been sold
commercially, the price of which would hopefully be around £350,000 to be confirmed
following discussions upon a discount.
Councillor Price wondered why the remaining house could not be financed by Babergh DC.
Nigel Downton thought that any application could not be determined within the available
timescale.
Councillor Davies referred to the Babergh DC Community Sums Fund which received money
in lieu of affordable housing on certain developments. To qualify for an award a scheme
must demonstrate best value and reach the highest environmental standards. She did not
think these criteria were met with this proposal and consequently an award was unlikely.

Councillor Matthews enquired if a tenancy would have a definite end date.
Rolf Althen explained that under new legislation this was not possible and a tenancy would
probably be for a longer term.

Councillor Burns wondered why this house had been chosen when there were, for example,
cheaper maisonettes in the village. The Chair explained that she had been tracking East
Bergholt house prices for more than ten years and that 3-bed semi-detached houses lay in
the price bracket £330-380k, the only cheaper housing being the flats in Elm Estate.
Nigel Downton said that a brand new house had a ten-year NHBC warranty and low
maintenance expenditure. In risk management terms the extra costs to enable the proposal
to be de-risked were worth it. The risks were too great to take on a doer-upper whereas this
site was essentially risk and maintenance free.
Councillor Davies asked about the risk to Trustees and whether the Trustees would run the
property or ‘sub-contract’ to a Registered Social Landlord.
Nigel Downton said they were in negotiation with a RSL. They would also appoint an agent
to collect rent and for maintenance purposes, though for one property only they were not too
concerned if they had to do those things themselves.

Councillor Matthews asked what would happen when the current CLT leadership changed.
Nigel Downton thought there were others in the village with similar skills.

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Councillor Smith wondered why this had arisen now. Was the urgency real and will a new
opportunity arise in the future. He could see that the urgency was real for David Wilson
Homes but that Hills would only do something if it was advantageous to them.

The Chair thanked Mr Downton and Mr Althen for their contributions and closed the Open
Public Session at 8.18pm.

156.25.26 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

None.

157.25.26 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST S OR DISPENSATIONS

Councillors Miller and Roberts declared non-pecuniary interests as they were Trustees of
EBCLT. They stated that they would speak but not vote.

Councillor Matthews declared a non-pecuniary interest that she was the parish council
representative to EBCLT but was not an executive member on the Trustee board.

Councillor Burns declared a non-pecuniary interest as a shareholder, an ordinary member
(not a managing member) of EBCLT.

Councillor Hurley declared a non-pecuniary interest as a shareholder of EBCLT.

158.25.26 APPLICATION FOR CIL FUNDING

It was proposed by Councillor Matthews and seconded by Councillor Davies that the
application be supported and that a CIL award of up to £350,000 be awarded to East
Bergholt Community Land Trust.

Councillor Davies asked the Chair about the implications of making the award upon the CIL
fund and the priorities listings.
The Chair noted that in the priority listings affordable housing was halfway down the list in
tenth position. She said that with predicted future CIL receipts all the priorities could be
funded.

Councillor Roberts considered this to be a big and important decision for the Council. It was
a good opportunity for the CLT which would enable it to offer homes to local people, but was
it the best use of public funds? This priority is tenth in the list and the top seven are valued at
£2.5m. Notwithstanding, although there is an associated opportunity cost, it is the best
chance for the CLT to get off the ground. There are no other current opportunities and this
would enable the CLT to build an asset base and expand its portfolio. He maintained a
strong belief in the CLT.

Councillor Woodcock noted that an award would reduce the CIL fund presently held by half
for four or five people at most. Projects such as the Congregational Church would benefit far
more residents.

Councillor Hockley applauded what the CLT is doing but could not support this project. He
thought there were better and cheaper sites such as the area at the rear of the
Congregational Church.

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The Chair commented that this was not available for affordable housing as the heads of
agreement that the Parish Council had signed with the Church Deacons identified this
development being for older people only.
Councillor Roberts noted that our neighbourhood plan policies did not support affordable
housing in the village centre.
Councillor Hockley said that he could not support this amount of money being spent for the
benefit of just one family.

Councillor Davies considered that this would provide accommodation in perpetuity for
generations of local people in and that the asset that it generated would be the beginning of
further investment in affordable housing for local people provided by the CLT. She said that
none of the current affordable homes in the new estates had been allocated to local people.
Councillor Hurley said he had considered Councillor Davies’ remarks very seriously both for
the village generally and in the light of his own circumstances. He could see it was an
opportunity for the CLT to take off in its provision of affordable housing for those who could
not afford East Bergholt house prices.
Councillor Burns found Councillor Davies’ remarks compelling and found it telling that social
housing generally was not going to villagers.

Councillor Price considered that this matter should have been referred to the Strategy, Policy
and Finance Committee first and by bringing it straight to Council was a breach of its own
policy. He said that Babergh DC was responsible for housing local people and was
disappointed that they did not appear to be concerned about local communities in its
allocation to affordable housing.
Councillor Davies said that Babergh DC had no duty to build social housing and the
arrangements were that a group of local authorities had come together and pooled their
resources for social housing and allocated to those in greatest need from the shared housing
list. The needs of East Bergholt local people often did not exceed those from other areas.
Councillor Price acknowledged that this methodology did break up local communities. He
found benefitting four or five people initially to be difficult and wondered why the CLT could
not match fund with a loan or mortgage.
Nigel Downton said that would not work as the CLT could not raise a mortgage on the
property as it currently had no assets. However, once the CLT had an unencumbered asset
it could raise a mortgage on the next purchase.

Councillor Smith thought this was a hugely difficult decision. He agreed with Councillor
Davies over need and that this was a good opportunity for the CLT. However, on the timing
question this feels as if the Councils is being driven headlong towards an award when not a
single councillor rated this as their top priority. Councillor Woodcock make a good point
about wiping out much of the current CIL fund when there is no projection of when other
likely receipts will be received. He was unsure that there was sufficient information to make a
decision right now.
Councillor Matthews said that the CLT had not envisaged this opportunity and had to take
such opportunities as they arise.
Councillor Hockley reaffirmed that he could not support so much money for one family.
Councillor Burns wondered what the rest of the village would think. She did not think the
Council was explaining this well.
Councillor Smith thought that part of the problem is that this proposal is not strong enough
and councillors will have a job explaining to the village the cost/benefit.
The Chair said the first Neighbourhood Plan set up the CLT so whilst this proposal is new,
the concept of support for the CLT has been in place for ten years.

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Councillor Price thought the village would see it as buying a house for the CLT though he
was not sure a family which lost out would see it that way.

Councillor Elmer considered that there was never any prospect of getting Babergh DC
money for the second house so really the proposal was always only for one.

Councillor Hurley considered the perspective of people in the village. He thought some will
be put off whereas others will potentially support a decision to award on the grounds that it
will enable the CLT to get up and running. Some will find it encouraging after all these years.
On moral grounds he would like to see the CLT get started.

Councillor Allen believed the main problem to be that property in East Bergholt is so
expensive and young people are not earning enough money to buy. He could not support the
proposal when he appreciates the disappointment which the person who fails to achieve an
allocation will suffer.

The motion moved prior to the debate that it was proposed by Councillor Matthews and
seconded by Councillor Davies that the application be supported and that a CIL award of up
to £350,000 be awarded to East Bergholt Community Land Trust, was put to the Council.
Having declared non-pecuniary interests due to being Trustees of EBCLT, the Chair and
Vice-Chair did not vote.
Four voted for the motion and six voted against. The motion was lost.
The meeting closed at 9.18pm