A development officer has started work for Rural Housing Scotland to take a new housing initiative forward in Uist. Donna Young, from Uist, will be coordinating the delivery of Smart Clachan, a community based housing development to support repopulation, by creating affordable housing and shared facilities. Rural Housing Scotland is working in partnership with Stòras Uibhist tocontinue reading
Tomduie Clachan – A pioneering project to help tackle the rural housing crisis and climate emergency
In anticipation of the upcoming United Nations COP-26 Climate Change Conference being held in Glasgow, a pioneering new project has been announced in Comrie, Perthshire. Tomduie Clachan is a proposed zero-carbon community housing project at Comrie Croft, one of Scotland’s leading ecotourism destinations. Tomduie Clachan is designed as the flagship in plans for Comrie Croft’scontinue reading
Scottish Government home buyer schemes not fit for purpose in remote rural and island Scotland
National home ownership support schemes often fail to meet their full potential in rural and island areas as they do not recognise that the circumstances surrounding housing are different to those in urban areas. Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE) is one such scheme. It helps eligible buyers, on low to moderate incomes, buy a homecontinue reading
Smart Clachan initiative offers sustainable housing solution for Uist
Rural Housing Scotland will lead the development of an ambitious new initiative to tackle the interlinked issues of depopulation, demographic change and the climate crisis in Uist. In partnership with community landowner Stòras Uibhist and with funding from Emsée Fairbairn Foundation, Rural Housing Scotland plan to develop Smart Clachan which will incorporate cooperative community-led housing,continue reading
Scottish Housing Day (Part 2) – The realities of trying to improve home energy efficiency in our remote rural and island communities
This year, Scottish Housing Day is focused on the role of housing in the climate emergency. We have released two blogs on this theme. You can read our first Scottish Housing Day blog here. Our homes are responsible for 13% of Scotland’s emissions which means, in order to meet our ambitious net-zero targets, we needcontinue reading
Scottish Housing Day (Part 1) – Home energy improvement challenges in rural and island communities
With COP26 just around the corner, this year’s Scottish Housing Day is focused on the role of housing in the climate emergency. With this theme in mind, we have released two blogs looking at the difficulties rural households can face to implement important energy efficiency improvements. You can read our second blog here. Our homescontinue reading
Why working to tackle the rural housing crisis matters to me: Interview with Kirsty Glover
Our newest team member and recent graduate, Kirsty Glover, tells us about her passion for rural issues which led to her dissertation comparing rural depopulation in northern Spain and the Scottish Highlands. As a resident of Applecross, Kirsty also shares her thoughts on what better rural housing would mean to communities like hers and explorescontinue reading
Plans submitted for new community-led homes in Cairngorms National Park
A planning application has been submitted for 15 new affordable homes in the village of Braemar, Aberdeenshire. The proposal has been developed as a result of extensive community consultation and assessment of local housing need and includes 1-bed, 2-bed and 3-bed homes as well as wheelchair accessible flats. The application was made following a publiccontinue reading
Building Our Rural Future manifesto launched
Today we are launching our Building Our Rural Future manifesto, laying out ten actions we believe politicians and policy makers need to take to enable affordable rural housing and help our rural communities thrive. In preparation for the 2021 Holyrood elections, and coming ahead of this week’s debate in the Scottish Parliament around concerns overcontinue reading
Rural Housing Summit Announced for 2021
A new online summit, bringing together individuals, organisations and businesses working to tackle the rural housing crisis across the UK and beyond, has been announced for 2021. The Rural Housing Summit will use examples of on-the-ground work, policy and practical support for sustainable housing development in rural areas across the globe to showcase good practice,continue reading