This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Affordable homes for Lochaber
13/04/2004
A piece of public land managed by Forestry Commission
Scotland near Fort William has been sold to a local housing
association that plans to build 16 affordable homes on
it.
The land comprises 13 hectares (32.5 acres) of mown
pasture at Inchree, Onich, about 8 miles south of Fort
William. It has been sold to the Lochaber Housing
Association under a preferential "sponsorship" scheme.
Under the scheme, local community groups and registered
social landlords, with the support of the Executive's
housing and regeneration agency, Communities Scotland, may
acquire national forest land that is for sale when
Ministers are satisfied that their acquisition of the land
is in the public interest, without the land being offered
for sale on the open market.
Forestry Minister Allan Wilson said,
"Many people in rural areas find it difficult to acquire
homes because of the cost, and we are keen to explore and
develop ways of making access to affordable housing easier
for them.
"One way is to look at what public land in areas of high
housing demand could be made available for affordable
housing projects by registered social landlords.
"One manager of public land is Forestry Commission
Scotland. As a significant employer in many rural areas,
the Commission is well aware of these issues, and I am
delighted that it has identified this piece of ground as
one that it can release for housing, because there is a
real need in the Fort William area.
"I am also pleased to hear that the Lochaber Housing
Association and Communities Scotland will be looking at
ways they can maximise the sustainability of the new
houses, including the possible use of Scottish wood, which
would be good news for Scotland's forestry and timber
industries and for employment in rural areas."
Deputy Communities Minister Mary Mulligan added:
"The Executive is committed to increasing the
availability of affordable housing in rural areas, and only
last month announced a budget of £65 million for rural
housing, the highest ever proportion of our housing
programme. This includes £17.7 million for the Highlands
and Islands, their largest ever allocation.
"The high cost of land and its availability in rural
areas is one of the major hurdles we have to tackle to
build affordable housing. This sponsorship scheme is a very
good example of how agencies can work together to achieve
this.
"Communities Scotland has contributed more than £130,000
towards this project at this stage, and further funding
will be made available for house construction, which will
allow 16 families to live in warm, high-quality homes. It
will also ease some of the housing pressure in the Lochaber
area, where there is significant need."
Lochaber Housing Association director Jim Dickson
said,
"Everyone knows about the particular problems of
providing affordable housing in rural communities and,
inevitably, accessing suitable development land is the key
to these developments.
"This acquisition opens a way for the Association to
work with partner agencies, not only to make an impact on
local housing need, but also to explore with a local
community group opportunities for innovative construction
methods to achieve maximum sustainability. In short, it is
a great opportunity."
Although the UK Government and Scottish Executive
operate a moratorium on large-scale sales of land managed
by the Forestry Commission, sales of small areas that do
not contribute to the Commission's strategic objectives are
permitted.
Forestry Commission Scotland serves as the Executive's
forestry department. It manages the national forest lands
owned by Scottish Ministers for recreation, nature
conservation and timber production, advises Ministers on
forestry policy, and supports other woodland owners with
grants, felling licences, advice and regulation.
Communities Scotland is the Scottish Executive's housing
and regeneration agency. With eight district offices
throughout Scotland, the agency works with others to
improve the quality of life for the people of Scotland by
regenerating disadvantaged communities and helping to
provide better housing.