 We are delighted that the Old Sawmill development at Rothiemurchus near Aviemore has been selected as a joint winner in the Rural Housing category of the Scottish Land & Estates Helping It Happen Awards, at a virtual ceremony on 27 October. The development is a collaboration between members of the local community, the Rothiemurchus Estate, and the Communities Housing Trust. It provided a total of six self-build homes on Rothiemurchus land: four affordable plots for the local community that required no public subsidy, and two open-market plots, within the Cairngorms National Park. This cross-subsidy model has now been incorporated into the Cairngorm National Park's Local Development Plan, to provide affordable housing on exception sites, which will support other communities adopt a similar model if needed. The affordable self-build homes all have the Rural Housing Burden attached, a legal title condition which protects the property’s affordability in perpetuity and prioritises the local community in future sales, helping prevent holiday- and second-home ownership. Read more about the development in the case study here, and more on the award here. Watch a short clip with Lesley McKenna, Old Sawmill co-operative member and resident who helped drive the project forward: Susan Hunter, Principal Officer of CHT, said: "We are delighted to win this award as it exemplifies the objectives of CHT. This development has been successful thanks to Johnnie Grant of Rothiemurchus for being open to finding a way to provide land for affordable housing; the absolute determination and staying power of the four families who put in a tremendous amount of work in taking it through the planning process; the CNPA for recognising the cross-subsidy model and the desperate need for affordable housing; and the CHT team involved in developing the model and making the serviced plots available. The importance of the Rural Housing Burden in rural housing provision is illustrated in these hard-fought homes, as if they are offered for sale, CHT's right to buy back will ensure they will be sold on to other families in the community at a discount from market value."
On the night, we were really pleased that Rothiemurchus also won the award for Tourism & Visitor Management, and Scourie Community Development Company (SCDC) won the award for Working With Communities. We are working in partnership with SCDC on the north west coast to provide community-led affordable homes, and have conducted a land audit, a housing needs survey, and community engagement work on their behalf. Click here for the full list of winners. Congratulations to all finalists and winners, and thank you to SLE and all the event sponsors! CHT is delighted that Planning in Principal has been granted for a small development in Boat of Garten, in the Cairngorms National Park. We have been working with the Boat of Garten community for a number of years to get to this stage.
The land has been made available by the Reidhaven Estate and CHT will develop 2 accessible homes for affordable rent, and the Estate who are our development partner, will provide 2 self-build open market plots. It was identified early on that there was a lack of affordable rented accommodation for older people in the village and this development will provide 2 wheelchair accessible bungalows aimed at helping older people stay in the community without the need to move away. The site just off Deshar Road is close to the local shops and post office. Boat of Garten has a high concentration of people over 65 and surrounding areas, and also a high percentage of housing which is classed as a second home or holiday let - 25.1% of all homes according to the 2011 census - which is significantly higher than the national (1.5%) and regional (5.7%) averages. CHT's affordable homes provided in this development would be let in perpetuity at an affordable level of social equivalent rent, and our allocation policy prioritises people with local live or work connections. As part of the planning conditions for the development, new planting of native broadleaf trees in two separate sites on Reidhaven Estate land elsewhere in Boat of Garten will be undertaken, three times the size of the development. This project illustrates the benefits of private landowner collaboration with communities and we are extremely pleased this project can now progress to the next stage.
On 23 September 2021, we welcomed around 60 people to our virtual AGM and event on "20 years of 20-Minute Neighbourhoods in Scotland: circular economies in rural areas."
We explored the environmental and socio-economic benefits of the 20-Minute Neighbourhood concept, and what that looks like in practice, in rural Scotland. We shared a few of our developments, to help inspire other communities, looking particularly at developing rural circular economies. The video recording of the event is above. Speakers (in order of appearance): Stefanie O'Gorman, Director of Sustainable Economics, Ramboll UK An introduction to 20-Minute Neighbourhoods Ronnie Macrae, CEO of Communities Housing Trust CHT's approach to 20-Minute Neighbourhoods & examples in action Janet Miles, managing director of Gairloch & Loch Ewe Action Forum (GALE) GALE Centre case study, Gairloch Hamish Trench, Chief Executive of the Scottish Land Commission Scotland context: role of land and land reform in supporting 20-Minute Neighbourhoods -- For more detail of CHT projects showing the 20-Minute Neighbourhood concept in action, see our Community-Led Case Studies, and Community Projects. Communities Housing Trust is delighted that two of our developments have been shortlisted in the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH)'s Scotland Housing Awards 2021. Our collaborative development with Rothiemurchus and members of the Aviemore community has been shortlisted in the Excellence in Housing Innovation category. The Old Sawmill development provided a total of six self-build homes on Rothiemurchus land: four affordable plots for the local community that required no public subsidy, and two open-market plots, within the Cairngorms National Park. The affordable self-build homes all have the Rural Housing Burden attached, a legal title condition which protects the property’s affordability in perpetuity and prioritises the local community in future sales, helping prevent holiday- and second-home ownership.  Old Sawmill development, Rothiemurchus near Aviemore. The community-led development at Achtercairn in Gairloch has been shortlisted In the Excellence in Regeneration category. This large-scale development to regenerate a derelict brownfield site in the centre of the village provided 25 affordable homes of mixed tenures; the GALE Centre tourist information hub, community shop & cafe (Scotland's first public building to be awarded Passivhaus status); farm shop; Air Training Corps facility; and further sites for development. We worked closely with the local community and a broad range of partners including Albyn Housing Association, Gairloch & Loch Ewe Action Forum (GALE), HIE, Highland Council, and University of the Highlands & Islands.  Achtercairn development, Gairloch. Photo credit: Rupert Shanks Photography The winners of the CIH Scotland Housing Awards will be announced in a ceremony in Glasgow on 25 November 2021. Congratulations to all other finalists and a range of projects!
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CHT BlogThis blog features a variety of CHT’s developments and projects located throughout the central and northern Scotland. It also includes the latest news and updates regarding the Trust. Archives
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