A former housing development in Hanwell built by Ealing Council to accommodate people in converted shipping containers is set to become the borough’s first community land trust (CLT), delivering up to 20 genuinely affordable homes.
Marston Court, in Bordars Walk, has now been earmarked for the community-led scheme, fulfilling a 2022 Ealing Labour pledge to identify a suitable site within the current council term.
The site was used from 2017 as temporary accommodation for people at risk of homelessness, with units created from converted shipping containers on land previously occupied by garages.
In 2019, the current leader of Ealing Council, Councillor Peter Mason, called the scheme “innovative emergency accommodation” providing a “stable, comfortable environment to house people”.
Residents later raised concerns about living conditions, including safety, maintenance and anti-social behaviour, and the development was decommissioned in 2023.
CLTs are not-for-profit schemes designed to keep homes affordable by linking prices to local incomes rather than market rates.
Ealing Citizens, a coalition of faith, education and community groups, has campaigned for more than a decade for a CLT in the borough and was involved in selecting the site.
Councillor Mason,said: “This is an important step towards creating genuinely affordable homes that stay affordable for local people.”
Jackie Ashmenall, of Christ the Saviour Church and Ealing Citizens, said: “We have worked for more than 10 years on this campaign because we believe the community land trust model offers a fairer system, where homes stay affordable not just today, but for future generations.”
The council is expected to consider next steps, including appointing a delivery partner, later this year.
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