Histon & Impington Community Land Trust is working to increase the amount of locally affordable housing but they need your help. Trust member Aga Cahn explains what’s going on behind the scenes and how we, as a community, can make a difference.
Our villages are some of the most sought after places to live in Cambridgeshire, and for very good reasons. We have brilliant schools, a vibrant high street, and, as the COVID pandemic clearly demonstrated, a deeply supportive community. But that desirability comes with a steep price tag. For our neighbours, friends and adult children currently in rented accommodation, or hoping to be, the financial hill is getting much steeper to climb.
The Histon and Impington Community Land Trust (HICLT) was set up to address this very problem.
In 2019, in response to the needs expressed in the 2018 Big Community Survey, a group of residents came together with a mission to increase the amount of locally affordable housing. Our plan is to create affordable housing within the community meaning less of our young people and local employees needing to move away to afford a home of their own.
Who struggles most when it comes to affordable housing?
A look at the numbers between 2024 and 2026 shows a quiet housing crisis unfolding right on our doorstep. While open-market rents continue to climb, vital housing support has been frozen solid, leaving a growing financial gap for both individuals and families.
South Cambs District Council told us that between April 2025 and March 2026 there were 36 reports of homelessness in our village and at least 10 of those were families with children.
We’ve heard from key workers in the village who can’t afford to live here; disabled adults who’ve had to move away from their support system in order to be housed; young adults who have grown up here and want to remain and contribute but are held captive in their childhood bedrooms; and families stuck in a rental spiral that doesn’t allow them to save for the future.
The ever tightening squeeze
Here is what that reality looks like for our community today:
In 2024, local housing support covered about 80% of the average local rent for a 2-bedroom home.
Today, because private rents on platforms like Rightmove have drifted toward an average of £1,620 a month while support stays flat, that safety net only covers about 72% of the cost. This leaves a local renter relying on housing support facing an estimated £361 shortfall every single month, just to keep a roof over their head.
If things are tight for individuals, they are incredibly stark for local families who need a bit more space. For a 3-bedroom family home, local housing support now covers less than 60% of the village average cost.
If you step up to a 4-bedroom home—where local rents now average roughly £2,625 a month—the frozen government housing support maxes out at £1,444.59. That leaves a local family with a massive monthly deficit of over £1,180. For a family happily settled in the village – with children at the local schools and deep roots in the community – finding that extra cash every month in order to remain in a place they love is an impossibility.
Taking Control
Our core aim at HICLT is simple yet powerful: to acquire local land and assets to ensure they are developed and managed for the true benefit of the village, forever. HICLT member Lisette Veit talks more about this in our article published on HI HUB in 2025.
Instead of leaving our community’s future completely at the mercy of an escalating private market or frozen government benefits, HICLT steps in as a developer of genuinely affordable housing. Because a Community Land Trust holds assets in perpetuity, any home we build or secure will stay affordable for local people, generation after generation.
Think of HICLT as a protective shield for Histon and Impington. By providing homes with rents tied to local wages rather than spiraling market rates, we can ensure that the people who keep our villages running can actually afford to live here.
Join us and make a difference
Our AGM is taking place at Histon Methodist Church on Thursday 17 September. Residents and people with a connection to our villages are invited and we would love to see you there. We will be asking for your input on our priorities for our future developments – what you think are the most important things to consider when planning to provide affordable housing in the area that we live in and value so highly?
We can’t build community assets without the support and input of the people who live and work here, so please join us in contributing to a safe and sustainable future for our villages.
Written for HI HUB by Histon & Impington Community Land Trust.
HICLT AGM takes place at Methodist Church Small Hall, High Street, Histon, CB24 9JD on 17 September, from 7.30pm. Show your support for the work of HICLT or become a member – find out more at www.hiclt.org
Related Stories: Affordable housing in Histon and Impington – a dream or a reality?
Housing Survey tests need for local homes for local people and £1 for a share in the future of the village
