Crofting Inquiry - Rannsachadh Croitearchd

PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY COMMENTS THAT ARE DEEMED TO BE DEFAMATORY, LIBELLOUS OR INAPPROPRIATE FOR PUBLIC DISPLAY WILL BE DELETED FROM THE FORUM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Throughout the area of the Inquiry access to affordable housing for young people and communities was seen to be a serious problem. It was acknowledged that these problems were not exclusive to this area.

Other problems were insufficient income for mortgages/deposits, fewer rental opportunities and high house/plot prices.

Most people felt that housing grants were useful, but some groups felt that they should more closely reflect construction costs, especially on the islands, and that loans should be introduced. It was also suggested that planning ‘red tape’ should be relaxed and that planners should work with local communities.

This is a test reply

I think that more needs to be done in publicising the record of the Housing Grant mechanism. There is no doubt that this form of public subsidy has rooted people in remote communities and that the subsidy is the cheapest and most cost effective way to supply housiing in those areas.
The "secret" of the schemes success is that the applicant has to be a registered crofter so they obvioulsy have access to the land. They do all the planning and legislative work themselves and procure the build either as DIY or from a low cost option.
In Argyll in a few places crofts are being created - small and on poor land - to address this situation. The local community are engaged to prioritise the tenancies with the landlord and crofters commission and a planning instrument ( Section 75) is used to link the house to the croft to avoid speculation.
The effect is 2 fold - the pressure on crofts from those who sol;ely want/need a house site is decreased and the supply of "affordable" housing is increased in those areas.The best agricultural land is protected and all round this is a win win situation.

However my point is that this is self help with a minimum subsidy and has been the best scheme for the government for many years.
More needs to be done in order to create more opportunities for more people.
Tioraidh

I think that more needs to be done in publicising the record of the Housing Grant mechanism. There is no doubt that this form of public subsidy has rooted people in remote communities and that the subsidy is the cheapest and most cost effective way to supply housiing in those areas.
The "secret" of the schemes success is that the applicant has to be a registered crofter so they obvioulsy have access to the land. They do all the planning and legislative work themselves and procure the build either as DIY or from a low cost option.
In Argyll in a few places crofts are being created - small and on poor land - to address this situation. The local community are engaged to prioritise the tenancies with the landlord and crofters commission and a planning instrument ( Section 75) is used to link the house to the croft to avoid speculation.
The effect is 2 fold - the pressure on crofts from those who sol;ely want/need a house site is decreased and the supply of "affordable" housing is increased in those areas.The best agricultural land is protected and all round this is a win win situation.

However my point is that this is self help with a minimum subsidy and has been the best scheme for the government for many years.
More needs to be done in order to create more opportunities for more people.
Tioraidh

The present Housing Grant Scheme is so out of touch that it is not worth taking up and goes no way to help make Crofter housing affordable. Why does the Government not invest in affordable housing by subsidising the cost of buying or building by investing a stake in the property. Where the buyer purchases 40% or 60%, the government owns the rest at market value until paid off. This way the government can also cash in on the housing boom. Could this be cheaper than paying £200,000 + for a council house

I whole heartedly agree with this post. We may be one of the potential projects in Argyll. We have >74 people living in caravans and have been searching for housing solutions for 2 years now. We are currently trying to access lottery funding to buy forestry land to create forest crofts. This will give some local people the opportunity to self-build (using local timber) and generate a small income. The people are multi-skilled and willing to solve their own housing problem - all they need is land. The land is very poor, yet it seems that the lottery may not fund it's purchase since 'the land will fall in value once it's crofted'! Lottery funding will also shortly come to an end. If the government is serious about creating new crofts it needs to put in place further funding to enable communities to buy land. As mentioned, houses can remain tied to the croft and/or a burden can be put on the lease to prevent speculation and ensure that the property remains affordable. I am sure we are not unique in having a talented population willing to sort out our own problems. The aspirations of Parliament need to be translated into action at a local level so that the local councils, forestry commission, planners etc actively support local groups in rather than tying us up in red tape.

Argyll has it's own problems with regard to crofting and in particular with just one island.

"burden can be put on the lease to prevent speculation and ensure that the property remains affordable".

If only, if only!