The Scottish Government is committed to introducing a new Land Reform Bill to Parliament by the end of 2023. Key proposals for the forthcoming Bill, contained in a recent consultation paper titled ‘Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation’, focus on imposing statutory requirements on large-scale rural landholdings, partly defined by Government as landholdings exceeding a minimum threshold of 3,000 hectares.
The Government proposes that such landholdings be subject to a public interest if they are to be transferred into new ownership by sale or other means. It also proposes that they should be subject to compulsory Land Management Plans, and a duty to comply with the currently voluntary Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement. The Government further proposes a requirement on the part of owners of such landholdings to provide prior notification of their intention to sell their holdings, to eradicate ‘off-market’ rural land sales that limit opportunities for community ownership. Lowering the minimum threshold for landholdings from 3,000 hectares to 500 hectares for the above proposals, and considerably lower still for the ‘prior notification of intention to sell’ requirement, would greatly enhance the likelihood of them addressing the lack of affordable housing contributing to the depopulation and demographic crisis facing many economically fragile rural communities. The new Land Reform Bill could also help tackle the lack of affordable homes in rural communities by amending the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 to introduce a new-use category in the land-use planning system, as previously proposed by Andy Wightman when the Planning Bill was going through Parliament. That would enable planning authorities to classify homes as primary residences, second homes or holiday lets, with planning permission being required for a change of use. Community-led housing provision has long been a distinctive feature of community land ownership in rural Scotland, with both the Communities Housing Trust and South of Scotland Community Housing playing crucial roles in facilitating its delivery. The forthcoming Land Reform Bill therefore also needs to amend the suite of existing Community Rights to Buy to ensure they fit for the purpose of bringing more land and assets into community ownership to help provide more of that housing. There is now an opportunity to take a genuinely joined-up approach to land reform and community-led housing development by including the above measures in the forthcoming Land Reform Bill. All the more so, if they are aligned with rural housing planning policy detailed in the recently published draft National Planning Framework 4 and the future Community Wealth Building Bill that is also on the Government’s legislative radar. Self-builders who are unable to access standard bank lending can now apply for a loan of up to £175,000 to help with the development costs of their home.
The Self-Build Loan Fund reopens for applications on Monday 21 November and aims to support the delivery of good quality and energy efficient housing, giving people more choice about the homes they want to live in. Following the success of a pilot scheme in the Highlands the fund was launched nationally in 2018, with loans worth a total of £6.2 million enabling 41 families to build homes from the Borders to Shetland. Housing Secretary Shona Robison said: “This fund aims to unlock the dream of building your own home, in many cases allowing people to stay in their local communities. We know it can be more difficult to access finance for self-build projects than for buying an existing property, and this fund is a crucial lifeline for those unable to access standard bank lending. When loans are repaid, the money can be re-used, during the life of the fund, supporting more self-builders and providing more homes for future generations. “Self-provided housing can play an important role contributing to the long-term sustainability of our rural and island communities, and this £6 million Scottish Government fund will continue to help support this. It has had great success in the Highlands and Islands and has also provided dream homes for people living across the whole of Scotland. “Wherever you live, if you’re interested in building your own home I’d encourage you to contact the Communities Housing Trust to find out more.” Kirsten, a school teacher from Shetland who benefitted from the fund, said: “We acquired our plot of land over 20 years ago. At that point there was an old croft house on the land which we initially planned to renovate. However, several things arose to hinder our plans. The most significant was my partner becoming long-term disabled after an accident. This meant a lot of disruption to our build plans. “If the fund hadn’t been available we would have had to stop our build altogether and sell the plot of land. That would have meant it being harder for us to get onto the property ladder. It can be difficult or more costly to find a property that has larger living accommodation needed for wheelchair use. It may also have taken us away from our home area where family are nearby. I don’t know what we would have done without this fund.” Ronnie MacRae, CEO of the Communities Housing Trust, said: “In the years we’ve administered the fund, we’ve seen demand rise as conditions become even more challenging for people to build their own home. In many cases, families just need a bit of extra support and are fully able to build and then repay the loan. “Self-build remains an important option for many, particularly in areas where no other options exist, so we are extremely grateful to the Scottish Government for continuing to provide the fund.” Background The fund is reopening on 21 November 2022 after closing on 31 August 2022 to new applications. The Self-Build Loan Fund is administered on behalf of the Scottish Government by the Communities Housing Trust. The administration fees borrowers will pay to secure their loan is £895. The interest rate for the loan is 5.5% (9% for those in default). The agreed repayment period will depend on the nature of the project, but the loan is intended to be short-term and repaid on completion of the build. This blog is part of a monthly series about community-led housing in Scotland, jointly written by Mike Staples, Chief Executive at South of Scotland Community Housing (SOSCH), and Ronnie MacRae, Chief Executive at Communities Housing Trust (CHT). Between us we’ve worked with hundreds of communities across Scotland, facilitating well over 1,000 affordable homes. Between 2009 and 2013, 40 people left the small Gaelic-speaking crofting community of Staffin in the north of Skye. This was a 6.6% population drop in four years. The James Hutton Institute forecasts a quarter of the population of the North West Highlands and the Southern Uplands declining within the next 25 years, unless action is taken. We know what the picture looks like across the country: young people unable to find suitable accommodation so being forced to leave their communities or unable to return after education (nearly half of all young people will be leaving the Highlands & Islands in the next five years, according to a new report by HIE. In the south of Scotland, the proportion of young and working-age people has been declining since 1992 and is projected to decrease significantly in the next seven years). Likewise, families are unable to find housing, which removes working-age people from already stretched communities, leaving services and businesses struggling. The demographics are crucial: with ageing population predictions across most areas of rural Scotland, we’re looking at diverging even more from thriving, diverse and self-sustaining communities. So, faced with this depopulation and demographic crisis, what are communities doing about it? Lots, in a word. They’re looking at the whole picture, tackling repopulation from a range of angles. No to one-size-fits-all Firstly, there’s the need to tailor solutions to the specific needs of each community. Targeting exactly what’s needed in different rural and island communities means they can grow and adapt for the future in the ways they need to. For example, including more affordable family housing to keep young, working families in their hometowns (or help them return), including more homes with office space, or more adaptable homes to prevent people with additional or changing needs from having to leave. Protecting housing stock for the future Secondly there’s increasing the housing stock and protecting it for use by local communities. Without control over future sales or allocations, what’s to say the homes won’t become holiday or second homes? Applying tools such as allocation policies and the Rural Housing Burden means that the houses will be forever in use by people with a need to live or work in the area. Lifelong homes with a range of tenures Thirdly, having options of different affordable tenures is crucial, particularly in small communities. With secure tenancy options, community-led homes give individuals and families opportunities to plan for a long-term future. And by promoting community connections and prioritising tenants with existing ties to the community (e.g., a job, nearby family, connections to local services or businesses), this model also helps with stability and diversity of a community. Not just homes… As ever, it’s not just homes that are needed. That’s something that communities are demonstrating in practice too. In terms of how Staffin dealt with their population loss, the Communities Housing Trust worked with Staffin Community Trust to provide a range of affordable homes, but also to improve access to services with a new NHS health centre, and improve opportunities for local businesses with commercial units and workshops. All this was achieved on a small site with partnership working. A short film about the feasibility stage of the Staffin project, part of a ‘routemap’ resource for community-led housing In Closeburn, Dumfries and Galloway, the Nith Valley Leaf Trust partnered with SOSCH to identify need for local, affordable family homes. The project introduced new, Passivhaus family homes across from the school, which had previously suffered from a decreasing roll. Three new families moved into the homes, all with young children, which helped sustain the school and teaching jobs. One of the families also runs a day-care business from their home, further increasing local service provision for families. Similarly, in Glentrool, a remote and rural community at the heart of Galloway Forest Park, SOSCH has supported Glentrool & Bargrennan Community Trust to redevelop three empty homes into affordable family housing. This project has been delivered in conjunction with the development of a community-hub, creating local employment opportunities in a very remote location. Community-led is the way to repopulate
An important aspect of repopulation agendas is creating great places that are attractive to live, work, play, and grow up and grow old in. We want everyone – politicians, local councillors, services and businesses, community organisations and residents – to see that community-led housing and development does just that. It complements other existing options such as housebuilding through councils or housing associations. As depopulation is a major issue felt keenly in communities across the country and one of the Scottish Government’s critical policy challenges, both CHT and SOSCH, alongside our community partners, demonstrate there’s a proven solution in community-led development. In practice, this means enabling communities to make their own decisions and do what they do best: adapt, innovate, and create the best opportunities possible for their own futures. It’s not a theory, or just a nice idea on paper, but proven in practice. In the absence of other possibilities for many rural and island communities, and with funding support from the Scottish Government (such as the Rural & Islands Housing Fund), community-led provides strong outcomes and goes hand-in-hand with repopulation. We look forward to supporting many more communities thrive in as many ways as possible! |
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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