Community company offers scenic affordable homes in Argyll
A Scottish charity is offering new build affordable homes in one of the most scenic areas of the country.
Kilfinan Community Forest Company (KCFC) is initially offering two homes and two self-build plots in a community-owned forest in Tighnabruaich, Argyll – an area where house prices have been inflated because of demand for holiday homes.
As well as providing genuinely affordable homes, the project will also create training opportunities and jobs locally and could provide a model for communities facing similar issues in Scotland and beyond.
All single-storey buildings, the houses have been designed to sit sympathetically within the landscape. Every building, including the self-built houses, will follow the same design template to create low visual impact.
The principal activity of KCFC is to manage ownership of 127 hectares of Acharossan Forest – purchased from the Forestry Commission Scotland in 2010 – to deliver a range of benefits to the community of Kilfinan.
Robert Borruso, KCFC’s housing project manager, said: “This project is ground-breaking on a number of levels. Here is a rural community taking control of its future and finding its own solutions. We have land, we have timber and we have people who have the energy and passion to make it happen; what’s more it’s a masterclass in sustainability.
“We want to show that with innovative and appropriate design, Scottish timber can be used to build high-quality Scottish homes. It could provide a template for other communities, enabling more families to make their homes in rural areas like this.”
KCFC expects interest in both the ready-built houses and the self-build plots to be high and has established a selection process that will take into account a number of factors, including the applicants’ contribution and commitment to the local community.
David Blair, chair of the charity, added: “We believe that to have a living forest you need to have people living and working in the forest.
“This creates a sense of ownership and belonging which is vital for the future of the forest.”
