Housing Project - Stay up to date:

Background information:

In Autumn 2025, we carried out a community-wide Housing Needs Survey to help build an evidence base for future housing in Ardgour.

Number of responses: 35 households, and 7 businesses

The survey highlighted a clear need for a mix of housing types, including homes for local families, people working in the area, and those looking to downsize.

The findings are now informing feasibility work and early design planning for Clovullin.

View the full survey results here.

Ardgour Community Housing  - September Update

At our July Meeting, the revised site plan was presented, confirming that we hope to build 6 units for affordable rent.

Current plans are for these to be as follows:

·       Type 1 is a 2-bed unit  90m² per unit

·       (2 of) Type 2 are 3-bed units 104m² per unit

·       (2 of) Type 3 are 3-bed units 118m² per unit

·       Type 4 is a 2-bed unit 65m² per unit (adapted home)

The Trustees have insisted that each house has good garden space to make sure they are as family friendly as possible. Ultimately the eventual layout will come down to how much money we can raise to build them. We are hopeful that a large proportion will come from the Scottish Government but this comes at a set ‘price per unit’ and there will be gap which will need to find in 2027, before building work commences.

We are pleased to announce that having had an external valuation of the land undertaken the Trustees have agreed the area of land to be purchased and a sale price with the Ardgour Estate. We are grateful to Ewen MacLean and the family for their assistance who have offered a discount which helps us with the fundraising total. The final settlement will of course be dependent on receiving planning permission and we anxiously await the results of funding applications to secure the acquisition fees involved.

Using the feasibility funding from the Scottish Land Fund and the Highland Council Community-Led Local Development programme, and funds from the Ardgour Area Fund we have conducted:

·       A detailed ground drainage and flood risk assessment of the land, including the MUGA site next door.

·       A topographic survey

·       A tree survey

·       An ecological survey

With the help of the Communities Housing Trust, our developing agent, and architects Catoe Brown, we have considered the Highland Councils largely positive response to our outline planning application and we are now preparing a full planning application and have completed an initial Business Plan for this £2million project which has been submitted to the Scottish Government.

As part of our work towards a full planning application we have commissioned a firm of Civil and Structural Engineers – Cameron + Ross  who are drawing up the first set of necessary engineering plans.

All of this work has cost approximately £45,000 to date, with a similar amount required to reach Full Planning.  Fund raising is ongoing to try to ensure progress on the project does not stall.

Alongside this work we are also seeking to raise the additional funds required to purchase the site, because if we are successful in our application to the Scottish Land Fund, this only covers part of the acquisition costs.

We will provide further updates as we have news.

Meanwhile the picture below indicates the current draft layout of the houses (but this may change, following engineering reports and Highland Council responses to the ecological survey.)