Forest set to branch out into huts

● 600 in running to secure plots in woodland on national estate

Around 600 Scots are in the running to secure just 12 plots on Scotland’s national forest estate which are being freed up to create a new hutting community.

Reforesting Scotland said it was “overwhelmed” by the levels of interest in the plots in Carnock Wood in Fife which will be rented out to hutters in a pilot project.

The organisation is working to revive Scotland’s hutting culture which encourages people to retreat to small low-impact properties in natural settings for rest and recreation.

Donald Mcphillimy, director of Reforesting Scotland, said: “It’s no secret to say where were overwhelmed in the amount of interest. We were pleasantly pleased. The response confirmed our feeling that there is a huge amount of interest out there.

0 Holyrood has introduced new laws to make it easier for people to build a hut for recreational use

“It just seems that this is the moment for hutting. It’s a zeitgeist.”

The 600 people who registered an interest in the Carnock Wood site will now attend an open day in Dunfermline next month to hear more details about the scheme.

Those who then want to take forward their application will enter a ballot with results likely to be known by the end of June, it is expected.

In light of the demand, 12 landowners, from areas including Argyll, Dumfries and Galloway and Fife, have also been invited to the Dunfermline event to discuss potential hutting sites on their property.

Last year, the Scottish Government introduced new legislation to make it easier for people to build a simple hut for recreational use.

A new building type for huts is now recognised by the planning process and, in effect, exempts huts from most building regulations.

At Carnock Wood, successful applicants will build their own hut, which usually costs anything between £200 and £5,000 depending on materials used. Each hut at Carnock, which will have no running water or electricity, will likely be serviced by its own compost toilet.

The hutters will enter a rental agreement with Forest Enterprise Scotland for their space in the wood, which is designed to be used at weekends and for holidays.

Richard Heggie, director of planning consultancy Urban Animation, said there were “a lot of positives” around hutting in Scotland but added that there were still a “few issues” with the planning process.