23rd February was the date for our annual conference. The theme this year was Building Rural Futures. As per usual, the conference was held in Birnam (with the pre-conference evening reception being held at Dunkeld House Hotel).

We were delighted to welcome around 100 delegates and speakers to discuss various subjects ranging from Island Proofing through to hutting and cooperative self-builds. Unsurprisingly, the Planning Bill was a hot topic and Richard Heggie of Urban Animation gave us a presentation of why EVERYONE should get involved in the discussion.

A common concern throughout the event was the debate over providing housing where it CAN be delivered (in order to hit the Scottish Government’s 50k Affordable Homes target) as opposed to delivering housing where it is needed.

Shortly after the conference, a report commissioned by Shelter Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and the Equality and Human Rights Commission in Scotland was published. The aim of this Review of Strategic Investment Plans for Affordable Housing (here) is to better understand how the Scottish Government target is likely to be delivered in practice and should help keep the discussions raised at the conference going.

If you missed the conference or would like to have another look again at the presentations, you can find them on this page.