New £2.3 million community housing development at Lairg ready for occupancy
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A NEW £2.3 million community housing development at Lairg has been completed and is ready for occupancy, it has been confirmed.
Contractors, Inverness-based Compass Building & Construction Services, handed over the development to Albyn Housing yesterday (Thursday).
Albyn Housing has been working with Lairg and District Community Initiatives (LDCI) to progress the eight-home development on a site in the centre of the village formerly occupied by the Sutherland Arms Hotel.
It is the first social housing investment Lairg has seen since Glenburn, a small development in the centre of the village, was constructed in the mid-1990s, nearly 30 years ago.
LDCI secretary Robert Johnstone told members of Lairg Community Council at their meeting earlier this month that the contractor, Inverness based Building & Construction Services, was currently landscaping the site and hoped to hand over the homes in March with people moving in by Easter.
Previously the completion date for the project was May.
“They (the homes) will be in a state where people can move in”, he said.
The development comprises four two-bedroom bungalows along with four one-bedroom “Fit Homes”. All the homes are wheelchair accessible.
Fit Homes are fitted with sensor-based technology with the aim of supporting vulnerable tenants to stay at home independently for longer.
A system of ambient sensors monitors the daily habits of the home’s occupants, allowing family, friends and carers to keep a remote check to ensure that all is well.
The Lairg FIT homes will be the only ones in a rural community, with the others in Inverness, Nairn and Dingwall.
LDCI donated the land on which the houses are being built, and the surrounding parking and access areas at an indicative value of £90,000.
The project has attracted the highest level of public sector funding seen in Lairg for a some time.
The majority of the total project cost has come from the Scottish Government which provide £1.3 million through the More Homes Division. Albyn Housing Society contributed £600,000 and Highland Council £200,000 from its infrastructure fund and a further £200,000 from the City Region Deal money.
A spokesperson for LDCI said: “LDCI is very grateful to everyone who has helped bring the project to this stage and especially to our project manager, Susan Clark. Susan’s knowledge and advice has steered it through the complexities of planning, the setback of Covid, and much more.”
Previously Kaye Hurrion of LDCI has said: "This amazing project is poised to bring about a truly transformative impact on our community."
Allocations to the FIT homes are made through a nomination process and can be made by NHS Highland, Albyn Housing Society and the Highland Council. To find out more email:fhallocations@albyhousing.org.uk
The Highland Housing Register is for people who are applying for housing in the Highlands and applications can be made online at: www.highland.gov.uk/info/925/council_housing/244/apply_for_a_house
The Sutherland Arms Hotel closed its doors in 1998 and the building was demolished in 2007.
