My name is Donald MacKelvie Macneish and I moved back to the Island in 1970 to start and run a Blacksmiths in Lamlash. Initially my wife Kathleen and I lived with my parents in our family home in Lamlash, later we moved to rented accommodation for 4 years while we built the house we now live in.
We decided to build our own home, because it was what people did who could not afford to buy a house at that time. I looked about the village and identified a wet bit of ground in a local farmer’s field that he did not use. After an initial enquiry a meeting was set up and I met the farmer’s son, Donnie Sinclair, on site.

The negotiations went along these lines:
“Well Don my father says I have to come here and sell you a bit of ground for you to build a home, how much land do you want?"
“Well Donnie I thought this wet bit in the corner of the field” (approximately ½ acre).
“Seems fine to me Don, get some plans drawn up of the ground”
“But Donnie how much do you want for it?”
“How much do you have Don?”
“About £200 at the moment Donnie”
“Just the amount I was thinking of Don, it’s a deal”

It then took the next 4 years to build our home, with a lot of help from friends, as cash and time became available.
I tell this story to illustrate the how, in the 1970’s, farmers and land owners assisted young people to settle within their communities and become active members of them.
Today the cost of a piece of land for a young people rules out ‘self-build’ or home ownership to almost all of them. In a market economy, price is determined by supply and demand and if the village planning envelopes are no longer able to respond to communities needs, the young families will continue to be excluded from home ownership or a fitting place to live. It would seem that it is now time for more creative thinking on how to accommodate young local families who wish to be part of our future communities. Special problems require extraordinary solutions and if that means exceptional areas for young people to get a start, I think it would be a start worth making.    

Don Macneish, Lamlash

As a challenge to the planners, here are a few alternatives to the styles of house currently allowed to be built on Arran - all real homes, built to the highest standards and with low environmental impact as a design essential, using as many materials from sustainable sources as it is possible to incorporate in any house.
 
Consider any of these standing alone, within a village, or a (new) clachan with a mixture of these styles.
 

Images courtesy of Near Zero CO2 Homes, Dualchas Design Architects and Matek (Estonia)

And what about terraced housing?
If a 21^st century copy of Hamilton Terrace, Lamlash were to be built, would it attract a long queue? We think so.