Crowdfunder lays solid foundation for Colonsay homes
A project to build new affordable homes on Colonsay could get off the ground as soon as June this year thanks to the determination of a community and some added support from further afield.
Crowdfunding to raise £25,000 towards the ‘extraordinary costs’ of building community-owned affordable homes on the island has exceeded its target and charity Colonsay Community Development Company (CCDC), which is driving the project, has now stretched the target to £50,000 in a bid to reduce the amount of money it will need to borrow.
‘We were over the moon to hit our initial target – and with some time to spare,’ said CCDC spokesperson Caitlin McNeill.
‘The support from the wider community, including those with island connections from all over the world, has been incredible and heartwarming to see. We know that Colonsay has a special place in a lot of people’s hearts and we’ve really seen that shine through in the kind comments and generous donations.’
A planning application has now been submitted and the charity has reported that ‘things are moving along nicely’ with a start on site estimated to be in June 2021.
‘We are waiting to hear back from some of our biggest potential funders, so it is still an uneasy time but every donation, no matter the size, just chips away at the overall target and helps us out enormously, not only in a directly financial sense, but in demonstrating the scale of support for the project,’ added Caitlin.
‘We are now able to run the Crowdfunder appeal for a bit longer than originally planned (March 9) to allow people to continue donating through the Colonsay Housing Crowdfunder site or get in touch with us directly at colonsayhousingproject@gmail. com.
‘To all our supporters we would like to extend heartfelt thanks.
‘We have missed seeing so many regular visitors and family members over the last year but this has reminded us just how close we really are. Ceud mìle taing do gach neach a chuidich sinn! (A hundred thousand thanks to everyone who has helped us).’
There have already been more than 20 expressions of interest in the houses – the overall cost of building each home will be £220,000.
The initial plans at Scalascaig also include two houses for low-cost home ownership and three discounted self-build plots to help invigorate the community.