A widespread consultation is currently under way across Acharacle, Ardgour, Morvern, Sunart and West Ardnamurchan to identify local housing needs and help guide potential housing development in the
region.
The consultation has been commissioned by Urram, a charity which was formed after the sudden closure of the Dail Mhor care facility in Strontian, and continues to be guided by its vision of enhancing the lives of those in our rural communities.
Communities Housing Trust are currently running the online housing and business needs survey which will provide information about housing need in West Lochaber, and
also gauge the impact that the reduction of key care facilities is having on the communities in the region.
A feasibility study on the Dail Mhor site, Strontian strongly indicated lack of affordable housing as a barrier to delivering effective social care.
James Hilder chairperson of Urram trustees explained: “There is a great need for improved social care provision, which is hampered by lack of staff, indeed, this is the reason why Dail Mhor is currently closed for respite services. We suspect that lack of affordable housing is playing a significant role in the staffing crisis and the report from the survey will hopefully provide the evidence needed to develop more affordable housing provision locally.”
Communities Housing Trust (CHT) is a charity that is driving forward a wide range of community-led housing initiatives across Scotland.
Kirsty Partridge from CHT says: “The exciting thing about community-led housing is local people playing a leading and fundamental role in solving their specific housing problems, creating long-term, affordable homes and building resilient communities in ways that are difficult to achieve through mainstream housing alone.
“We are delighted to be working with Urram, to understand the housing need in the area, an important first step in any community led development.”
Two events have taken place in Ardgour and Strontian, with another event coming up in Acharacle Hall on Friday December 15. The remaining two community consultations will take place in Kilchoan on January 12, and Lochaline on January 22. The survey can be found on the Communities Housing Trust’s website (www.chtrust.co.uk/urram-survey.html) and will be open until the end of January 2024.
Louise White, development manager for Urram urged all permanent residents, businesses and service providers to participate to ensure a true picture was formed of the needs.
She said: “If you live in West Lochaber, even if you have no current housing need, we want to hear from you!”