Hanwell Site Chosen for Community-led Housing Scheme

Twenty affordable homes to be designed by local residents

Jackie Ashmenall (left) with Cllr Peter Mason and members of Ealing Citizens. Picture: Ealing Council

March 25, 2026

A vacant plot of land in Hanwell has been selected as the site for Ealing’s first community land trust (CLT), paving the way for up to 20 permanently affordable homes designed and shaped by local residents.

Ealing Council confirmed this week that Marston Court in Bordars Walk has been identified as the preferred location for the borough’s first CLT development — fulfilling a promise made in 2022 to bring community-led housing to the borough.

CLTs are not-for-profit organisations that create homes linked to local incomes rather than market prices, ensuring they remain affordable for future generations. The land is held in community ownership, and residents are directly involved in shaping the design and long-term management of the homes.

The choice of Marston Court as the preferred site carries particular significance because the land previously housed Ealing Council’s temporary accommodation made from converted shipping containers, a scheme that was widely criticised for poor living conditions and eventually decommissioned.

Council leader Peter Mason said the announcement marked a significant step in tackling the borough’s affordability crisis adding, “This is an important step towards creating genuinely affordable homes that stay affordable for local people. CLT homes give residents more say in how their homes and neighbourhoods are shaped, and this work will help more people put down roots in the borough.”

While still relatively new in London, community land trusts have been growing steadily across the UK over the past decade. More than 350 CLTs now exist nationwide, with some of the most established examples in Cornwall, Bristol, Leeds and East London.

St Ives CLT became nationally known for linking house prices to local wages in a town where second-home ownership had pushed prices far beyond local incomes and Bristol Community Land Trust delivered the city’s first community-led homes at Fishponds Road, combining affordable ownership and rental options. In the capital, London CLT, which grew out of community organising in east London, delivered permanently affordable homes at St Clements in Mile End and is now working on further sites across the capital.

Ealing’s housing pressures mirror those seen across London. The average home in the borough now costs 16 times the average local salary, leaving many people unable to buy and struggling with high private rents. CLTs are increasingly seen as a way to bridge the gap for those who do not qualify for social housing but cannot afford market prices.

The announcement is a milestone for Ealing Citizens, a broad alliance of faith, education and community groups that has campaigned for more than ten years for a CLT in the borough. The group worked closely with the council during the site selection process.

Jackie Ashmenall, a community leader from Christ the Saviour Church, said the decision was the result of years of persistence. She said, “These homes will mean security and opportunity for people who are so often squeezed out of the housing market – key workers, young families and young people. We believe the community land trust model offers something different: a fairer system where homes stay affordable not just today, but for future generations.”

For younger residents, the announcement offers a rare glimmer of hope.

Henry Wilson, who works full-time but can only afford a room in a shared house, said CLTs could give people like him a realistic path to home ownership.

“For many young people like me, the housing market is completely out of reach. Community land trusts can give young working people a real chance to own a home and put down roots.”

The council will now carry out further checks on the Marston Court site before preparing a report for cabinet later in the year, seeking approval to formally market the opportunity and select a CLT partner.

Once appointed, the chosen partner will work with residents to design the homes and agree how they will be managed in the long term — a defining feature of the CLT model.

If successful, the Hanwell scheme could become a blueprint for further community-led housing across the borough, aligning Ealing with a growing national movement that is reshaping how affordable homes are delivered.