CLAS Cymru

Polytunnel and garden. Picture credit: Cilrath Acre, Narbeth, Pembrokeshire

Welcome to the Community Land Advisory Service Cymru. We are a specialist support and advice service for community-led green space projects across Wales.

The Community Land Advisory Service in Wales (CLAS Cymru) is funded by Welsh Government to support community-led green space projects. 

Over the last decade we have helped hundreds of community projects in Wales with land access and planning. We also work closely with decision-makers on community growing, such as improving planning rights and allotments and are a voice for community land ownership reform in Wales.  

About the service

We exist to help communities gain access to land and gain all the necessary permissions, including planning. This is to enable them to set up and manage green spaces as effectively as possible. We are also here for landowners too, by providing support and reassurance on potential community projects on their land.  

We offer one-to-one advice on:

  • How to find land to set up a community led project or enterprise.
  • Working with public bodies and private landowners effectively.
  • Getting permissions to use land and build small structures for the benefit of the community.
  • Setting up your organisation effectively in order to take on land and to progress a green space project.

How to access the service

For one-to-one support in Wales tailored to your project, please tell us a little bit about your project. 

To access our CLAS Cymru service, please complete a short online introduction form.

Click here to access the CLAS Cymru support form in English >

Click here to access the CLAS Cymru support from in Welsh >


Resources

Please visit our resources page and select the 'access to land' filter to see all our land and planning resources. We've put together some that you might find useful, including:

Finding land for your green community project >

Community Growing Resource Pack >

Negotiating with Landowners >

Land agreements - leases >

Heads of Terms lease templates >

Read about the update to small-scale agricultural planning rights in Wales (2021) >


Get recognised with a CLAS Cymru Award 

The CLAS Cymru Awards recognise community projects that are working to set up new community green spaces such as orchards, woodlands and community gardens. Projects like these are valuable for both people and nature. They are also run by volunteers who give up their spare time for their local environment and community. The CLAS Cymru Awards can be a stepping stone to achieving a Green Flag Community Award run by Keep Wales Tidy. 


Partners

Keep Wales Tidy Green Flag Community Award

We work with the Green Flag Community Award managed by Keep Wales Tidy to increase the number of community-managed green spaces and eligible Green Flag community sites. 

Legal partners

We've worked with Blake Morgan LLP Law Firm, Wright Hassall LLP Law Firm and Cardiff University Law School to provide training and to keep our knowledge, resources and templates up to date and as helpful as possible.


Contact us

If you'd like more information or need advice on getting land to set up your community green space project, please contact CLAS Cymru Coordinator Lucie Taylor, [email protected]

 

Area
Wales
Topic
Access to land
Allotments
Food growing
People
Policy
Starting out