Development Trusts are organisations operating in the United Kingdom that are:
There is no set form of legal structure, and a development trust may be registered as a company limited by guarantee, a community interest company, or an industrial and provident society. Many register as charities.
The activities undertaken by development trusts are various and include:
They are informed by a belief that community regeneration that is achieved through community-owned enterprise is the way to build strong and sustainable communities.
There are over 500 development trusts throughout the UK, co-ordinated in England by the Development Trusts Association (DTA). The mission of the DTA, which was established in 1993, is “to bring about a successful development trust in every community that wants one”. In January 2011 the DTA announced that they were merging with the British Association of Settlements and Social Action Centres and that a new joint organisation would be called "Locality" and that a new organisation for Northern Ireland had been established, joining the existing sister organisations in Wales and Development Trusts Association Scotland.