 The new community-owned housing, health and business development in Staffin, Skye, has won the ‘Excellence in Regeneration and Sustainability’ category at the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Scotland Housing Awards 2022. The award ceremony was held last week in Glasgow, and this award recognises the importance of revitalising communities and neighbourhoods in order to make a real difference in people’s lives. The development in Staffin was led by Staffin Community Trust, with support from the Communities Housing Trust. Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association were a further partner. The project sought to help repopulate and regenerate the community which had suffered a 6.6% population drop in four years. The resulting development includes six affordable homes with three different tenures, as well as a new community-owned NHS health centre, and business and workshop units, helping to improve access to rural services and boost the local economy. Families moved into the six homes at Taighean a' Chaiseil (Houses of the Weir) earlier this year, which were designed and built by Skye-based firms Rural Design and James MacQueen Building Contractors Ltd.
Income from the properties and commercial space will allow Staffin Community Trust to maintain the development, and any surplus will be invested in further community projects. The project received funding from the Scottish Land Fund, Rural & Islands Housing Fund, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, SSE Sustainable Development, LEADER, Quaker Housing Trust, the Ecology Building Society and a crowdfunding campaign. Ronnie MacRae, CEO of the Communities Housing Trust, said: “Congratulations to everyone in the Staffin community for driving this forward – a great achievement! This project looks holistically at sustainability – not only housing the community for future generations, but also making sure there is access to services, and that local businesses have opportunities to grow or establish themselves. This is what a community-led approach can do, and we’re delighted that it’s been recognised by CIH at a national level and that it continues to be supported by the Scottish Government.” More detail on this project and all shortlisted entries for the Scotland Housing Awards can be found in the Chartered Institute of Housing’s 2022 Good Practice Compendium.  The first guide in Scotland to support community organisations undertake their own housing or development projects is now freely available online. The ‘Routemap’ resource was launched by the Cabinet Secretary for Housing Shona Robison MSP at the Communities Housing Trust’s AGM in Inverness last month. The Communities Housing Trust created the guide and film case studies in partnership with communities across Scotland, with funding support from the Nationwide Foundation. CEO Ronnie MacRae said: “We want to increase understanding, raise confidence, and ultimately support more communities to undertake projects of their own. We’ve now worked with well over 100 communities facilitating community-led housing, so it’s based on sound and varied experience.” Recognising that taking on a community-led housing project can feel overwhelming and complicated, particularly for communities with limited time and resources, it is intended to help demystify and map out the main stages of the process. Two of the five video case studies, made by the communities themselves about a specific stage of the process:
Community-led housing is about local people playing a leading and fundamental role in solving their specific housing problems, creating long-term, affordable homes and strong, resilient communities in ways that are difficult to achieve through mainstream housing alone.
In Scotland, community-led housing is supported by the Scottish Government through the Rural and Islands Housing Fund which was set up in 2016 and enables community groups to access grants to part-fund community-led housing projects. Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Shona Robison MSP said at the launch: “Every community is different and while some communities have experience of delivering housing solutions to meet their needs, there are others who don’t have that capacity to bring forward their own housing projects, so I really welcome the Community-Led Housing Routemap. I hope it will stimulate even more communities to bring forward many more new housing projects to help sustain and strengthen local areas. “What we’ve seen on the video [case study] with Staffin really brings it to life – that’s the end product of all of that hard work over many years, of actually delivering homes for people, and that means people can stay living in their own communities. For me that’s what it’s all about.” The Routemap guide and accompanying film case studies are available to view and download on the Communities Housing Trust’s website: www.chtrust.co.uk/routemap  We are looking for suitable land in the Stratherrick & Foyers area, to help provide community-led, affordable homes in partnership with Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust.
Please share and get in touch if you know of any suitable sites: [email protected] Download the call for sites poster here (PDF). We're also currently running a housing survey for residents and businesses of the Stratherrick area - if you haven't completed it, please do so before Wednesday 12 October at: www.chtrust.co.uk/surveys.  Image credit: Rupert Shanks Photography The community-led development of 15 affordable homes, flats and self-build plots was granted full planning permission at the end of September. The project above Kirkton Gardens was initiated by Lochcarron Community Development Company (LCDC) based on strong local need, and is being taken forward by Communities Housing Trust and The Highland Council. The Communities Housing Trust will provide six homes for social rent and low cost home ownership, as well as three discounted self-build plots. The plots and homes for sale will be discounted using the Rural Housing Burden, which assures affordability in perpetuity for the local community. The Highland Council will also provide six homes for social rent.  Image credit: Rupert Shanks Photography LCDC currently owns Kirkton Woodland, the land behind the development which was purchased with support from the Scottish Land Fund. Further funding has been provided by the Scottish Land Fund and The Highland Council to enable vehicular access to the site and the forest beyond making it more accessible to the community.
A building contractor will be appointed after the necessary consents are in place, and it is expected that construction work will begin on site in 2023. “We are delighted to see the project going ahead,” said LCDC Chair Helen Murchison. “Demand for affordable housing in the Lochcarron area has been rising dramatically in recent years and this development will help provide a lasting solution for many young people and families, as well as help our local businesses create employment opportunities.” Ronnie MacRae, CEO of the Communities Housing Trust, said: “Congratulations to the Lochcarron community for reaching the next milestone in this much-needed project. This development will provide homes for 15 families, helping keep people within the area and helping the local economy and wider community to thrive. The strong local support is worth mentioning, as it demonstrates the will of communities to take their future into their own hands which is commendable.” Economy and Infrastructure Committee Chair of The Highland Council, Cllr Ken Gowans said: “Affordable, sustainable and energy efficient housing is a priority for The Highland Council as it enables people to stay within rural communities, allowing them to prosper and grow and in turn support wider economic growth. The Council commend the efforts of the Lochcarron Community Trust and look forward to working in partnership with them and the Communities Housing Trust to deliver 15 new affordable homes.” |
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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