Bid to grow Highland community with woodland crofts

A community in a Highland glen is pushing forward with plans to increase the availability of housing and work opportunities in the area.

Glengarry, like the wider region, has a shortage of affordable properties.

Land has been bought in Ardochy Forest for the construction of affordable homes and new woodland crofts.

Glengarry Community Woodlands hopes the move could lead to long sought after improvements to the glen's transport links and broadband connections.

The glen, which stretches to about 20 miles (32km), is home to about 380 people. Many of them live in or around the village of Invergarry at the east end of the glen.

The nearest largest settlements to Invergarry are the village of Fort Augustus, about eight miles (13km) north, and the town of Fort William 25 miles (40km) south.

Hospitality, forestry and crofting - a form of small-scale tenant farming - are the main industries in the glen.

But there is a big challenge to those who want to live and work in the area.

Ross Lynn, chairwoman of Glengarry Community Woodlands (GCW), said: "The single most important issue is the lack of affordable housing to either buy or rent.

"There is just nowhere for young people who have grown up here and families that want to move here."

Ms Lynn said people who live further up the glen also had no access to community transport, endured patchy mobile reception and poor broadband connections.

She said this posed problems for people who wanted to start new businesses, work from home and even local children being able to do their school homework online.

But Ms Lynn hopes by increasing the population the glen would have a stronger voice in lobbying for infrastructure improvements.

GCW and the Communities Housing Trust have bought two sites totalling 163 acres (66ha) for the construction of the new homes with support from the Scottish Land Fund.

There are plans for four to six affordable homes and the creation of six woodland crofts.

Woodland crofts are similar to the traditional crofting model, but with the key difference being that tenants make some of their living from managing areas of woodland.

Ms Lynn said there was potential for people to set up businesses making products from wood, or running events such as bushcraft classes.

Ronnie MacRae, chief executive of Communities Housing Trust, said the housing project would regenerate the glen.

He said: "A combination of genuinely affordable homes and woodland crofts, spearheaded by the local community, is a great model that other rural communities will be able to look to."