PICTURES: First phase of Assynt Development Trust housing project could see the beginnings of a 'smart town'
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A community-led scheme to build affordable housing in Lochinver believes its cover-all-bases approach will prove to be a 'significant' factor in the overall outcome of the development.
Assynt Development Trust (ADT) lodged a planning application for the first phase of the development last month, which, if approved by Highland Council, will see 10 new homes built across two sites on Lochinver's 'Glebe' land.
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Chairperson Nigel Goldie says that they have been able to capitalise on "easy wins" in the first phase thanks to "major investigative work" assessing the viability of the site.
He said: "The area is full of rock and bog, so there are limited areas on it that we can build on. The significant thing about the approach we've taken, unlike other community initiatives to do this, is that right from the outset we decided to apply for funding to get all the major investigative work done on the viability of the site – such as the costs, layout and preliminary designs and engagement with other agencies.
"The point of doing this now is that when it comes to applying for funding we will know exactly what these costs are going to be. It avoids the danger of unanticipated costs that could be associated with a piece of land so difficult to build on."
Investment from Highland Council’s Community Regeneration Fund, Crown Estate Scotland, Highland Council and the Scottish Government’s Rural and Islands Housing Fund, totalling £114,000, allowed the Trust to undertake the comprehensive feasibility study and the hire of a design team.
The Trust chair hopes that the better understanding they now have of how the land can be used will lead to more than just housing being built on the site – and the book is very much open on how the new community could evolve.
Mr Goldie added: "Our intention is to incorporate a range of facilities within the whole development. At the moment, we are planning for 10 houses. The next stage will be for 30, or maybe more, if things go well.
"We want to use this as a means to stimulate other forms of economic activity in the area, by using local materials, recruiting locally and possibly setting up apprenticeship schemes. We are also looking at places for people to work to share facilities on the development itself, to incorporate into it, be it hubs for people who work on the internet, or people who do craft work or small scale home-based activity.
"You need to build more than just houses, and when you do build them, you need to design and locate them in a way that fosters community, neighbourly, good relations and contact, rather than a series of houses in a row or homes scattered too far apart from each other.
"A term that has been used is 'smart town', with the idea that it can be very high-tech and innovative, with people having their own office working from home, and we are trying to orientate ourselves towards that sort of economy.
"It's something which is a concept, but as far as a clear model on how we take that forward, I'm not sure. We just have to be open about how we use the space and that applies to development of leisure facilities, and routes to places like schools too."
Representatives of ADT, Communities Housing Trust and the project's design team, led by Oberlanders Architects, engaged with members of the community to discuss the plan at a drop-in event on November 1.
Mr Goldie says that the response from Lochinver residents has been "very positive" so far.
He added: "There is a lot of optimism that something will come of it, this time. We've had a number of false starts when it comes to getting housing projects going in the area, and people have a little cynicism sometimes that these projects can be delivered by a community body.
"We hope, now, by working very closely with the Communities Housing Trust and our architects and developers, Oberlanders, that we will be able to deliver on the project.
"We have people coming to our drop-in events who have children who have moved away and would like to come back, but can't because they can't find housing.
"There's clearly evidence of a demand within the local population, from people at different stages in their lives, looking for somewhere to live or to enable family members to come back to the area."
