It’s five years since communities in London Citizens camped in tents outside City Hall, to put pressure on the then Mayor Ken Livingstone to live up to his promises on a Community Land Trust.

Above: CTC Director Angus Ritchie (left) in a delegation of London Citizens leaders meeting Mayor Livingstone in July 2005, at the end of their encampment – reported by the BBC and Times

The Contextual Theology Centre, its partner churches and its Jellicoe interns have been at the heart of this campaign.  We are now celebrating success as the owners of the St. Clement’s Hospital site in Bow, East London have now agreed not to sell of the hospital site this summer.  Instead, they will be meeting with London Citizens local leaders to draw up plans for establishing London’s first ever Community Land Trust.

It’s a fitting piece of news to be blogging, 75 years to the day after Fr Basil Jellicoe died!