About the Church Development Agency
Delivering Affordable Housing With Purpose
The Church Development Agency (CDA) grew out of practical experience and a clear vision for supporting the Church in serving its communities. In 2021, the Diocese of Gloucester established its own development company in response to the Coming Home report – the Church of England’s call to action on housing.
The success of this initiative inspired the launch of the CDA, a national organisation providing professional development support to dioceses and parishes seeking to use their land wisely while delivering meaningful community impact.
Founded originally as The Good & Faithful Servant Ltd in 2007, CDA has evolved from a diocesan subsidiary into a national consultancy. Our work is built on a foundation of unlocking church land for development and social impact, forging strong partnerships with diocesan boards and local parishes across the Church of England.
Our Story
Partnership with DBF
The CDA is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF). We operate with a clear mandate to:
Generate financial return for the Diocese
Provide affordable housing
Create much-needed community facilities
Promote environmentally sustainable development
All profits are donated back to the DBF to reinvest in diocesan priorities.
Our Mission and Values
The CDA exists to help the Church be a visible force for good in society. Through repurposing legacy property and delivering thoughtful development, we provide homes, build community, and model environmentally and socially sustainable practices.
Our mission aligns closely with the Coming Home report, particularly around church-led affordable housing. As the development agency for the Church Housing Association, we are committed to creating housing that reflects the Coming Home report’s 5 S framework: Safe, Stable, Sustainable, Sociable, and Satisfying. Each project is designed to meet community needs while having long-term social impact.
Our work and impact
The CDA is actively involved in affordable housing initiatives and broader community development projects. With strategic partnerships across approximately eight dioceses, we support church-led development that combines practical outcomes with social impact.
Thanks to generous funding from the Oak Foundation, the CDA began a three-year pilot programme in 2023. This support enables us to test, refine, and scale models that could work across the whole Church, demonstrating how faith-based organisations can lead the way in addressing today’s pressing challenges, including housing shortages and the climate crisis.
We are currently working across:
The Diocese of Gloucester – where our roots lie, and where we continue to support a growing number of rural and urban projects.
The West Midlands – as the focus of our Oak Foundation pilot, we’ve rapidly grown a pipeline of housing projects across Birmingham, Lichfield and neighbouring dioceses.
Expanding Reach – we are beginning to engage with new partners in Bristol, Derby, and Truro, extending our mission further afield.
We’re also beginning to engage with new partners in Bristol, Derby and Truro, expanding the movement further afield.
Where we work
