A community housing project aimed at securing the future of the Isle of Canna has received a major funding boost as islanders pursue ambitious plans to grow the population.
The Isle of Canna Community Development Trust has secured £360,000 from SSE’s Highland Sustainable Development Fund and the National Trust for Scotland to help deliver three new affordable homes.
With a population of around 20 people, Canna is the smallest and most fragile of Lochaber’s Small Isles communities and local residents hope the project will help reverse decades of population decline.
The three family sized homes will become the island’s first purpose built affordable housing and will be owned and managed by the community development trust.
Islanders believe the new homes could increase Canna’s population by at least 50 per cent and create opportunities for new families to settle permanently on the island.
The project has been in development for five years and community leaders are hopeful construction can begin later this summer.
Geraldine MacKinnon, chairperson of the Isle of Canna Community Development Trust, said:
“This project has been five long years in the planning and we’re very excited to be on the cusp of starting work on the houses this summer.”
The total cost of the development is expected to reach £1.4 million, with the largest contribution coming through the Scottish Government’s Rural and Islands Housing Fund.
Additional support has been pledged by the National Trust for Scotland and SSE’s Highland Sustainable Development Fund.
Building homes on Canna presents unique challenges because of its remote location, with construction costs estimated to be around 40 per cent higher than comparable projects on the mainland.
Angus Murray, the National Trust for Scotland’s Operations Manager for Canna, said:
“It’s excellent to see the housing funding boost come into place to support the development of new community housing.
“This project will greatly support the island community for generations to come by providing affordable, high quality homes for residents of Canna.”
The community hopes the funding package can be fully assembled in time for work to begin this summer, allowing new residents to move into the homes during 2027.
Housing has become one of the defining challenges facing many island communities, with the availability of affordable homes increasingly linked to retaining populations, supporting local services and attracting younger families.
For Canna, the project represents more than bricks and mortar, it is part of a long term vision to create a more sustainable future for one of the Highlands’ smallest inhabited islands.
