Winners will be announced at the end of May.

It's great to see a project from the Highlands make it to the shortlist, and be able to showcase what partnership working and rural communities are capable of. Community-led development is the way forward!

More info: https://myplacescotland.org.uk/my-place-awards-2022/

The regeneration of the Achtercairn site in Gairloch, north west Highlands, has won ‘Best Regeneration Project – Rural & Suburban’ at the Inside Housing Development Awards in London yesterday.

The awards celebrate the very best residential developments across the UK, and recognise innovation in striving for more sustainable and net zero solutions.

The regeneration of Achtercairn, led by the needs of the community and undertaken by the Communities Housing Trust (CHT), was completed in 2020 during lockdown. It includes a mix of affordable housing, new shops and commercial space, and the GALE Centre which is Scotland’s first public building to be awarded Passivhaus status.

​The development is an example of a climate-friendly ‘20-Minute Neighbourhood’, where key services and amenities are a 20-minute walk, cycle or drive from home. It supports the local circular economy and wider area, while reducing the need to travel. 

The regeneration project has given the village a bustling new centre, while addressing some of the inequalities faced by rural communities, such as access to affordable housing, education opportunities, and shops and services.

The project was made possible with support from the Scottish Government through funding and flexible policies that are empowering many more communities to follow Gairloch’s example. The Highland Council’s support for a wide range of affordable housing tenures that provide choice to communities and those in housing need was also crucial. Other key partners include Albyn Housing Society, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Gairloch Estate, the Ministry Of Defence, the Gairloch & Loch Ewe Action Forum (GALE), and many others within the community.

A former brownfield site in the centre of Gairloch with a derelict hotel, Achtercairn was an eyesore for the village which is on the North Coast 500 route popular with tourists. In addition, the number of pupils in the primary school was dropping as families struggled to find suitable accommodation locally.

Working closely with the Gairloch community, CHT acquired several pieces of land and brought together many partners to provide 25 affordable homes of five different tenures with three housing providers; the GALE Centre with offices, Tourist Information Hub, community shop and café, and classroom for learning of all ages. The GALE Centre receives over 40,000 visitors per year and supports 100 people locally by selling their crafts and produce. Also on site is the Gairloch Farm Shop, vet clinic, and a new Air Training Corps facility providing skills and education opportunities.

Ronnie MacRae, CEO of Communities Housing Trust, said: “It’s great to be recognised for this community-led development, showing a 20-Minute Neighbourhood in practice, particularly during the week of COP26. The development has provided a new village centre with a low-energy Passivhaus as the focal point, as well as housing local families and keyworkers in energy-efficient homes built with sustainable materials. It’s reducing rural inequalities and need to travel, and is supporting and promoting the local circular economy.

“All of these factors work towards addressing the climate crisis, and we’re glad to be able to show what’s possible for other rural communities in Scotland, as well as elsewhere in the UK. We’d like to congratulate all other finalists in the category, and thank IHDA for the award. Finally, a thank you to our funder the Nationwide Foundation for enabling us to spread this work nationally, and to all our partners in Gairloch who worked tirelessly to make this a reality, for the future of their village.”

Janet Miles, the managing director of Gairloch & Loch Ewe Action Forum (GALE), said: “Everyone at GALE is delighted that Gairloch has received this award and been recognised for its achievements in regeneration. We're very proud of the part GALE has played in this, having been driving community-led regeneration in the area for over 20 years now. Our vision was to create a community-owned, social and economic hub in the derelict centre of the village - a physical heart to the community. The development has enabled us to turn this vision into a reality.”

Wendy Watson, owner of Gairloch Farm Shop, said: “The school roll is now a bit higher, we have more people in our local school. The numbers were declining.

​“Having this little area that’s now been developed, it stops people going straight out the village… ultimately the housing and everything else that’s here, I would say the difference is phenomenal to our village.”

​
> Read more about how the development is helping to address the climate crisis

> Read more about the Achtercairn project

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!

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.

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. 

​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! 

Our spokesperson Ronnie MacRae has said “We are delighted that our Rent to Buy Scheme has been nominated in the Rural Innovator Awards 2016. The main benefits of the scheme is that it is viable in many communities and it is based on loan funding rather than grant funding making it work in any economic climate. As a pioneer of innovative housing models this is one of the ways in which we can help and support families and our rural communities to thrive”.

The Rural Innovator Awards are run by Scottish Rural Action and seek to recognise and showcase some of the most innovative and effective ways in which rural challenges can be addressed. It will be awarded to a project, person or organisation who is improving life in rural communities by tackling one of the priority challenges.

Other projects nominated in this category include:

• Argyll Community Housing Association
• The Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust-Rent to Buy Scheme
• SBHA- Rutherford Square
• Ulva Ferry Housing Project

Scottish Rural Action National Coordinator Emma Cooper said “We are very excited to be able to start accepting votes for the Rural Innovators Awards. Some incredible and inspiring projects were nominated for the awards in this category and shortlisting was a challenging task. We would encourage people to have a look at the shortlisted projects on our website and choose the project they find most innovative and inspiring. The awards will be presented at the Scottish Rural Parliament in Brechin”

You can vote online at http://www.scottishruralparliament.org.uk/get-involved/ria-2015-16/

Voting closes at midnight on the 18th September 2016.

Winners will receive a paid-for place at the Scottish Rural Parliament 2016 on 6-8th October 2016 taking place at Brechin Community Campus in Angus and will have the opportunity to present their project to delegates.

We have been announced as one of 10 finalists in this years World Habitat Awards!
Our Rent To Buy Scheme has been named as one of the top 10 projects worldwide, as organisations and projects around the world were nominated.
The World Habitat Awards were established in 1985 by the Building and Social Housing Foundation as part of its contribution to the United Nations International Year of Shelter for the Homeless.
Two awards are given annually to projects that provide practical and innovative solutions to current housing needs and problems.
For more information on the award, go to www.worldhabitatawards.org
And for more information on our Rent To Buy Scheme, as well as as all other finalists from this year and previous years, go to
 www.worldhabitatawards.org/winners-and-finalists/project-archive.cfm?lang=00