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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

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

Attention to local needs at the heart of social housing success

Calum Macaulay worked in housing associations and co-operatives for 37 years, latterly as Housing Manager and then Chief Executive for the largest housing association in the Highlands – Albyn Housing. He was also one of the founders of what is now Highland Homeless Trust and of TIGHRA – a tenant participation organisation for the Highlands, Islandscontinue reading

Fuel Poverty and Rural Homes

Marjan van de Weg is the senior data consultant with Changeworks, Scotland’s leading environmental charity delivering solutions for low carbon living. She recently worked with Citizens Advice Scotland on the ’Mind the Fuel Poverty Gap’ report, which explored how the eligibility for the Warm Home Discount scheme fits with the Scottish Government’s recently amended fuelcontinue reading