Community Led Housing - Planning Stage
It is well documented that the population on Uist and other islands in Scotland is declining and young people in particular are finding it difficult to stay. One of the reasons is the lack of affordable housing and the competition faced by local people from buyers looking to “escape to the country”. This crisis was highlighted in an open letter to the local newspapers from young people on Uist which gained national prominence and called for action to sustain the population, language and culture of the island. In response to this, Rural Housing Scotland and the Scottish Government, have developed the concept of Smart Clachan as an ambitious, community led sustainable solution to depopulation, demographic change and the climate crisis.
The vision is of a community-based initiative to support repopulation, creating affordable cooperative, interconnected and sustainable, low carbon live/workspaces in several locations across Uist helping stem depopulation and encouraging relocation. The Smart Clachan will be built at Rubha Bhuailt and will consist of houses available to purchase through shared equity, with islanders having priority.
Working alongside Modular West Ltd, G+GA developed designs for these energy efficient, factory built homes homes in collaboration with Stòras Uibhist and Rural Housing Scotland.