In March, with the spring sun shining, the SOSCH team went on a road trip to visit some of the projects we have supported. It was wonderful to see some of the amazing homes we have helped our communities deliver! Due to lockdown restrictions and remote working over the last two years, our team hadn’t had the opportunity to see the community-led projects or meet the community groups we work with, in person.
Our road trip took us to the Passivhaus development at Closeburn, with the families now well settled into their new homes. We took in the sheltered house project in Moniaive, then travelled onwards through the Glenkens to Newton Stewart. Here we viewed our most recent engagement with the Newton Stewart Initiative who are looking to redevelop a property on the High Street to provide an element of affordable housing.
Stopping off at Wigtown to view The Bunkhouse and flats which are nearing completion, we then drove down the Machars to Whithorn where we met with a member of the group All Roads Lead to Whithorn, to view the two nearly completed properties created from the former Grapes Hotel on the Hgh Street. Beautifully refurbished, the building not only provides affordable homes for local families but has also ensured the survival of a building of heritage, improved the visual amenity of the town streetscape and supported the local economy by using local companies in its redevelopment.
Arriving at Glentrool, we were met by the Glentrool and Bargrennan Trust who kindly hosted us for lunch and gave a tour of their project- the upgrading of three family homes due for completion in the summer 2022.
To end our tour, we headed to Dumfries to the Crichton where SOSCH are assisting with the housing element in the creation of a Masterplan for the Crichton Development Trust. This exciting project will provide a low density, mixed tenure, sustainable community development which aims to become an internationally important exemplar housing development.
We are looking forward to catching up with more of our projects and working with new community groups to support the development of their projects.
-Alison Gordon, Community-led Housing Coordinator. SW Scotland