Plans to develop a Rural and Island Housing Grant Scheme have been welcomed by the SNP’s candidate for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Eilidh Munro.
The Scottish Government initiative was outlined by the First Minister at the end of last week and will be allocated up to £20 million over the next four years.
Designed to help local people with the costs of buying homes in rural and island communities, the scheme will help first time buyers and families to remain in, or to move back to, their own communities.
The scheme will build on the successful delivery of over 12,000 affordable homes in rural and island communities between April 2016 and March 2024.
It will also complement existing support for the delivery of more new rural and island homes through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and the £37 million Rural and Island Housing Fund, which was recently extended to 2028 and is open to community organisations to help provide low-cost home ownership or homes for social rent.
The Scottish Government has also begun work to establish its new national housing agency, ‘More Homes Scotland’, which will help more homes be delivered faster, focussing on simplicity, speed, and scale.
Eilidh Munro commented:
“This welcome initiative shows the SNP Government’s commitment to Highland communities still really struggling with working-aged people moving away, often out of necessity.
“I believe enabling people to put down roots in the communities where they grew up is one of the most important things we can do in terms of protecting the sustainability of the Highlands for the years to come.
“More affordable housing in the right places is key, as is championing community land ownership, and continuing to support community housing projects as well as larger commercial housebuilding.
“I look forward to seeing further detail on this new fund in due course, but I believe support like this will be instrumental in helping many first-time buyers and families to stay long-term in rural and island communities.
“Housing is one of the key barriers to staff shortages across the Highlands at present, whether in public services or local businesses, and so I am pleased to see the Scottish Government taking real action here.
“A vote for the SNP is a vote for Scotland’s priorities, which are constantly being overlooked amidst the political chaos at Westminster.
“While we are doing as much as we can with the powers we currently have for example, on housing, independence offers us the chance to set our own path in issues like energy costs, as well as giving us the financial levers we need to expand the capital projects we can undertake.”
