£68,230 for Raasay Development Trust
Raasay Development Trust receives £68,230 to purchase two acres of land at Cottages Park in the village of Inverarish in order to plots for affordable housing.
Raasay Development Local Development Officer, Elizabeth Macleod, said: “RDT are delighted to be one step closer to our aim of providing affordable housing on Raasay and we are truly grateful for the funding and support provided by the Scottish Land Fund. We would like to thank David Knight (The National Lottery Community Fund), John MacDonald (HIE) and Morven Taylor (HSCHT) for their support as well as the North Raasay Sheep Stock Club for offering us the land at Cottages Park.
“Through providing affordable housing we hope to address the issues highlighted in the Raasay Housing Needs and Demands assessment undertaken by the Highland Small Communities Housing Trust. We hope to encourage families and younger people to join, or remain within, our vibrant and close-knit community while also supporting our ageing population. Providing affordable housing will also support local businesses who are struggling to find accommodation for staff.”
John Gillies, Chairman, North Raasay Sheep Stock Club, owners of the land, said: “I would like to say how happy we are the funding has been agreed for the Cottages Park development. This will provide much needed housing for the island and we hope our contribution to the project has helped move this forward.”
Four of the plots will be developed by the community to create homes for affordable rent; one plot will be sold to a local housing association for the development of two further homes and two plots will be available for self build.
Raasay Development Trust is one of seven groups across Scotland sharing in £706,126 of Scottish Land Fund cash and Minister, Cabinet Secretary for Land Reform Roseanna Cunningham said of today’s grants: “Today marks an important milestone for the seven projects that have had funding approved by the Scottish Land Fund, enabling local residents to push on with their plans to acquire and develop vital local assets.
“I’m pleased that such a diverse range of projects - from turning a former bank into a business hub in Huntly, to securing land for affordable housing on Raasay – have been successful in their applications, and look forward to these groups now realising their ambitions for community ownership, benefitting communities for years to come.”
John Watt, Scottish Land Fund Committee Chair, said: “The successful projects all share a vision for strengthening their communities and have identified key assets that will enable them to start delivering on their plans. Through the Scottish Land Fund, towns and villages across Scotland are receiving the backing they need to make a real difference in their local areas through bringing land and buildings into community ownership and putting them to good use.”
Sandra Holmes, Head of Community Assets at HIE, said: “These groups are working really hard to make their community ambitions a reality and it’s great that they have secured SLF funding to help achieve this. We are delighted to see seven communities being successful in this round. The awards will bring important assets into community ownership and give them the resources and control they need to deliver exciting projects for the benefit of people living and visiting their areas. We wish them all the very best in their new ventures.”
Other projects receiving Scottish Land Fund cash today are:
Huntly & District Development Trust
Award - £56,500
This group will purchase the former Royal Bank of Scotland building in the town’s main square in order to develop it as affordable accommodation for small businesses and start-up companies.
Carradale Community Trust
Award - £13,960
This group will purchase 4.75 acres of woodland from Forest Enterprise Scotland in order to create a garden waste recycling facility for the village and to provide access to walks and wider woodland in the area.
Furnace Community SCIO
Award - £164,065
This group will purchase the village shop in Furnace, Argyll, and the adjacent bungalow, in order to maintain essential shop and post office services in this rural community.
Moniaive Initiative
Award - £56,691
Moniaive Initiative will purchase a commercial unit on Moniaive High Street and convert it into a charity shop, information point, office space and multi-purpose accommodation for a variety of local clubs and organisations
South Cowal Community Enterprises
Award - £256,680
South Cowal Community Enterprises will acquire an established convenience store and Post Office in order to retain the only village shop and they plan to convert the unoccupied upstairs flat into a bunkhouse and community space.
Upper Tweed Community Enterprise
Award - £90,000
This group will purchase and re-open the former village store in the village of Broughton. The shop closed in March 2018 resulting in the loss of five jobs and entailing villagers in a 12 mile round trip for basic provisions.
