Two new homes for Harris

The Scourst View development in Meavaig North is finally approaching completion. We will shortly be advertising two newly-constructed homes for rent – hoping we can attract two young families to the township. This will be the culmination of 6 years work trying to find a viable solution to the housing problem in Harris.

The North Harris Trust had been working with the local authority and main island social landlord for some time to address the housing shortage. A number of studies have confirmed the dire need for more affordable homes for rent. This is also routinely raised at community consultation meetings. So, whilst we partner to deliver a bigger scheme, the Trust saw an opportunity in Meavaig to go it alone and develop on a smaller scale.

The previous owners of the site had started to build their own home, but circumstances changed and they could not complete. This gave the Trust an opportunity to purchase a partially-developed site with utilities and a house pad.

In 2020, having completed the purchase, we engaged an architect to carry out a feasibility study on the site to determine how best to develop it.

2021 was spent talking to local building companies to engineer a solution to match an achievable budget.

In 2022, the option of employing local Harris trades to complete the houses was investigated – this raised issues for the potential funders and so was a non-starter.

Finally in 2023, when one of the Trust Directors was on holiday in Barra, he came across Modular West – a modular homes manufacturer. Discussions soon progressed with the company and its architect. The idea of island factory build houses and a short on-site assembly was very attractive. By the end of the year, the planning application had been submitted.

2024 was the year for detailed design and Building Warrant submission. Planning Approval marked the start of funding applications. The contract was finally agreed with Modular West at the end of 2024.

The anchor funder for the project was Scottish Government, through its Rural Housing Fund. It provided development funding as well as capital for the build (40% project cost in total). The Coastal Communities Fund and Community-Led Local Development Funds contributed to the development stage (2%) and SSE Renewables contributed capital to the build (21%). This left The North Harris Trust to contribute the final 37% to make up the c£700K budget.

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Looking back on the project, it shows how long things take in community development to mature. The Trust had the benefit of full-time staff to progress the project. Other community development trusts are not so lucky. It also highlights the fact that despite owning 25,000ha or estate, finding a plot to develop easily is a challenge in the Western Isles. Ground conditions and access to utilities are always a concern.

The Trust now adds two new houses to its portfolio of affordable homes. They will shortly make two young families very happy. The houses will have a market value of less than the build cost – which is why we don’t have commercial developers queueing up to buy land here. It falls to third sector/ not for profit groups to help meet the need for affordable housing, if they want to build sustainable communities.