The Herald - The Herald Magazine
THE VOICE OF PROPERTY
Beverley Brown
THE coastal town of Gairloch in Wester Ross won international recognition this week when its Auchtercairn regeneration site won the ‘More Than a Roof’ category at the European Responsible Housing Awards.
Organised by Housing Europe, the annual awards showcase outstanding examples from social and affordable housing providers across Europe – and this one is a worthy winner. Keen to tackle de-population, declining services and lack of affordable homes and business premises, Gairloch area residents and around 50 partner organisations turned a derelict site into a thriving new geographic centre for the village.
Formerly a derelict site, Achtercairn now includes 25 homes with five different affordable tenures, Gairloch Farm Shop (which also houses a vet clinic) and an Air Training Corps facility. There’s also the GALE Centre – Scotland’s first public building to be awarded Passivhaus status – which incorporates a tourist information hub, community-run shop and café (which stocks produce from the wider region), community rooms to rent, and a veg-growing and composting area for the café.
In addition, a University of the Highlands & Islands classroom, enabling people of all ages to access new educational opportunities, now has larger premises.
PROPERTY consultancy Galbraith recently surveyed 1,000 customers in Moray to find out what features are most wanted by house hunters.
The top three results proved surprising, with 87 per cent of respondents citing a property with outbuildings; 84 per cent wanted additional land and/or a pony paddock; 82 per cent opted for a quiet, peaceful location. More predictably, outdoor space was high on the list, with a wellmaintained and pet-friendly garden the fourth most popular attribute (76 per cent).
Completing the top five features was a property’s location. Easy access to schools and local facilities, as well as a short commute to work, was cited by 72 per cent of those surveyed. Rod Christie, head of residential for Galbraith in Elgin, pointed out that “many rural properties are seeing an increased interest from homeowners”.