Housing
Initiative for Arran Residents
 
The Prologue
The Place
 
The People
 
The Policy
 
The Problem
 
The Possibilities
 
The Progress
 
Questionnaire
 
Discussion Forum
 
Links
 
Contact Info

The problem is that no one working on the Island will ever be able to afford to buy or build a house here owing to the competition from rich mainlanders wishing either to retire or purchase a holiday home. On top of this, people who own land outside of the village envelope and could afford to build a house are not allowed to do so because of the current planning restrictions. Many people have been forced to build extensions to their homes, as the only allowed route to provide a home for their offspring, but this is not an option open to many people.

Forty two percent of the existing housing stock are holiday homes and there is no foreseeable end to this alarming situation which is forcing our young people to leave the island and making it impossible for the essential jobs to be filled by people from the mainland who are willing to come and work but cannot find accommodation or afford to build or buy housing. It is already impossible to bring in teachers and nurses etc for this reason. How are the Arran Mountain Rescue team, Coastguard, Lifeboat, Fire Brigade and all the other voluntary organisations going to survive as the number of able people declines?

Henry Murdo


Members of Arran Mountain Rescue Team and Arran Coastguard on a joint practice exercise

 

"This is my nephew Alistair.
He works as a plumber in the family business and he is about to get married and needs a house can you help him?".
I remember the above words well. They were spoken by my uncle Henry to Mr. Stuart the estate factor in the Arran estate office June 1982.

I remember I felt a little embarrassed at the time, being a young man and not having the confidence to ask the question myself.

However, on return from holiday a couple of months later there was a letter asking me to go to the estate office and collect the key for number 15 Douglas Row which was offered to me for rent. Anyone that lived in Douglas Row around that time and before will remember the size of the front door keys - they were at least 8" long and weighed a ton.
I moved in to feather the nest before getting married the following April and then followed seven happy years and two kids. We were then offered the house to buy and had it valued at £17k. Around the same time I was looking for a plot in Brodick to build a house of my own I had identified a few sites but none were available.
One day a few weeks later I was in the butchers shop and asked George if he would consider selling me the ground he owned next to the plumbers workshop, he said let me think about it and i will get back to you sure enough the phone rings a week later "its George" I have an offer he says I am renovating Burnside if you put in central heating and an oil cooker along with a bathroom suite for me plus "some" cash we have a deal, without any delay I agreed.
Once all the legal guff was tied up the house was started and I was living in it within  eight months with the help of a lot of friends and many long hours, and still live in it today.
HOW LUCKY WAS I ??????
You may think whats this all this "about"... I am trying to compare what it was like for me twenty odd years ago finding somewhere to live on Arran  compared to recent times.
Would a similar situation happen now???( answer very unlikely) and here are a few reasons why I think not.
All but maybe a few of the twenty houses in Douglas row that were mostly owned by the estate at the time have been sold and no longer available for rent with a view to being able to purchase.
There are very few or no affordable building plots for housing within the village envelope. It was the planning policy at the time and maybe still is to encourage the filling of what they called gap sites.
There is no one like George owning ground in the village who is willing to give local first time buyers a hike onto the first rung of the ladder for a price much less than could be achieved on the open market.
There are many other factors that have created the almost impossible situation that we find our self's in today with youngsters especially young couples having to consider moving away from the Island to find somewhere of their own to live, but I will leave that to some one else to raise in this debate.

                                                                   Alistair Hume
Head of Arran Mountain Rescue Team

 
This is Niall's story, in his own words...

My name is Niall Hume i am 20 years old and live at home with my parents on the Island. My plans for the future as with the majority of young folk is to travel, its exciting to think all of the amazing places to go and see and explore, for me Arran has all these places as well and after my travels i would love to come home to Arran and settle down, but the fact of the matter is no matter how much that is what i would like to do, the way it is is just now, it is impossible to do so without the thought of living basicly in poverty

paying of a massive morgage for a tiny home, only the extremely determined young peaople who would do anything to stay on the Island will manage to do so.
The problem being you have to be extremely lucky to get a place cheap and/or of coarse winning a large sum of money to pay large costs of life and living on Arran.
The all to easy option; to leave and or emmigrate which doesnt take much time or thought to come to a decision about; better weather, a new place new people and of coarse cheaper housing and a chance to get the foot on the ladder, lets go!!
Basicly the high prices here push young yins away and i cant tell you it doesnt and wont take much pushing!
Make it easier to make home here and we will stay.


Niall Hume
 

If we Arran residents are concerned with the state of housing on the island, and how that affects individuals and the community, it is worth knowing what is already being done to address these concerns.
The organisation Isle of Arran Homes has been working since 2000 to provide general needs housing on the island.  We met with their chairman, John Sillars, and asked some simple questions.  We asked about statistics, about what Arran Homes does and how it does it, how much control it has over its procedures, and what are the most difficult hurdles it faces.

The following information is from Mr. Sillars' answers and from freely available information.

  • Isle of Arran Homes is a housing association that owns and manages a range of housing types and tenures on Arran. For example, they manage the housing stock transferred to them from North Ayrshire Council in 2001, totalling 118 houses.  They have also overseen the completion of 42 new-build houses across the island.
     

  • The money for the maintenance and construction of Isle of Arran Homes housing stock comes from the Scottish Executive through an organisation called Communities Scotland.
     

  • The houses they manage are allocated according to a national policy, not a local one.  This is the case not only for North Ayrshire and Arran, but across the whole of Scotland i.e. the rules governing allocations are not decided locally.
     

  • The allocation policy is governed by the basic principle of GREATEST NEED. 
     

  • The period of time that a person, couple or family has been waiting IS taken into consideration
     

  • Local people, people who live permanently on Arran, do not have priority.  If a person living on Arran is judged, according to national policy, to have the greatest need, only then will they be given priority.
     

  • Whether the applicant is employed on the island, or has an offer of work, is also taken into consideration in the context of greatest need.
     

  • Around 270 people are currently on the waiting list for a home.
     

  • The chances of housing that number are remote.
     

  • The main obstacles to providing those 270 people with homes are:
    1) Availability of land
    2) Landowners and their prices
    3) The policy that gives housing association/council house tenants the right to buy,    which is a slow but continuous drain on the pool of homes available to rent.
     

  • If there were more land available, and at cheaper prices, Isle of Arran Homes would be able to draw down sufficient funds to keep building houses: money is not the issue.

 

 

My family and I are like many on this Island, who have found the problem of housing almost insurmountable.  Over the years we have relied on family support, whilst seeking more permanent, affordable accommodation.
We have been in touch with our feudal superior, Mr Fforde, on countless occasions and have once been offered a piece of land.  It was a huge disappointment to find that due to the new local plan, we would not be granted planning permission. 

 

In our meeting with the planning officer, we were shown the constraints of the village envelope and the "gap" sites. There appeared to be barely any developable land and that was supposing we could get Mr Fforde to agree.  He suggested that we look at people with larger gardens and ask if they would be willing to sell a piece of their land.  It seems incredible to believe that in the whole of Lochranza, we were left with only that option.
We realised long ago that buying a house here would be almost impossible.  Two bedroomed houses, in need of major repair, are selling for over £250,000.  A huge proportion of these houses are going as holiday homes or future retirement homes.  There are very few families left.  There are only 5 in our village and the Primary school for Pirnmill, Catacol and Lochranza are lucky to have 18 pupils attending.
We are now in the process of renovating our parents' house and will at long last have a home large enough for our family.  We are very lucky to have been given this chance and have relied on their goodwill and the goodwill of those in the village, who have provided accommodation for them during this difficult time.  We are also fortunate in that some of the work can be done by ourselves.
We love living on this Island and hope that this huge problem, facing families and young people wishing to settle here, can be resolved.  Surely it cannot solely become a retirement/holiday home destination?

Kirsty Innes

 

Hi,

I thought that I would share our story with you, as total outsiders with a more objective view.
My wife and I moved to Arran in July 2005, because she was offered a position as Teacher of English at the High School and we had fallen in love with Arran.
Little did we know about the housing problems and the lack of work
It has now become such a problem that we are seriously considering moving back to the mainland.... anywhere, where we could buy a small house for around £160,000.

So Arran loses another key worker, who cares, she will be replaced, I am sure.
What I do find amazing is the little visible assistance offered by the NA council, the School or any other authorities. It seems as if they also do not really care.
We have spoken to various and numerous "authorities" but we do not "qualify" for any assistance because my wife earns too much!!!!
We will be devastated to leave Arran, but we must look at the cold facts.
I have also been working in the housing industry and know first hand how high the demand is for long lets and how short these are in supply. In the same business, we deal with holiday lets/self catering and these are booming......with most of the owners not living on Arran.
 
Something must be done very soon, or the infrastructure of Arran will collapse, because all the property owners will live elsewhere!
 
Good luck!
 

William and Loraine MacLean

William and Loraine are NO LONGER ON ARRAN

 

My family have been on Arran since way before the clearances. I moved back three years ago having worked hard down south and sold my house in Southern England to finance the business start up of The Arran Art Store. The business is successful and now in it's third year, employs one person apart from myself.

However as house prices continue to rise I have come to realise that I will never be able to afford to buy a home here. I pay out a considerable amount each month in rent. As rents rise every year eventually I may not be able to meet the rent and even if I can, some day I will be too old to work.

Without the ability to invest in a home, I will definitely have to leave the island at that point. As I have to consider my future security, I know I will have to leave soon and take the business with me so I can start investing in a roof over my head. When that happens my Aunt and Uncle will be the only members of my family left here. We are being forced out by impossible house prices. I desperately don't want to leave. Before the clearances there were hamlets and accommodation all over the island. We have incredibly tight planning controls dictated to us by people who don't live here. It makes no sense.

 

Susan Wilkinson

SUSAN IS NO LONGER ON ARRAN

See excerpts from her blog HERE and HERE

Warning to those on Arran believing this cause is not worth fighting for:
If these extracts don't frighten you nothing will...

 

We came to Arran in 1960 when our parents bought a house in Corriecravie and apart from a few years away studying, I have lived here ever since.
Most of my adult life I have flitted from rented house to rented house. As I never married or had a family, there never seemed to be a pressing need to own my own property. That’s not to say I didn’t dream that one day when the time was right I would build myself a little house. What I never dreamt of was that time would run out.
About 5 years ago when my last landlord decided to sell up, I realised my options were, to say the least, limited. By that time land and property prices were already out of my league as a first time buyer. So with the support of my parents and also with them in mind we decided the best (the only) course of action would be to build a small house in a piece of their garden. This would kill two birds with the one stone as it were. They would have me to care for them and I would have the security of my own home.
But life and the NAC planning department doesn’t work like that.
Because the property was outside the village envelope I was not allowed to build a separate house. It would set a precedent! Obviously the island was going to be overrun with middle- aged spinsters building houses on their parents land and this must not be allowed to happen. Who knows what it might lead to!

NAC very grudgingly agreed to an extension to my parents house, mainly because of my status as their carer. Their idea was that I would build a ‘room and kitchen’ because apparently carers don’t have friends or any kind of social life at all. When I argued this point, that I wanted to build something more like a home with ‘real bedrooms and everything’, it was reported to me that they demanded to know what I wanted all that for!
Luckily, I had a friend ‘at court’, someone who knew the ropes and after much argument I was granted permission to build.

So, from my dream of a small wooden house built among the woods, I live in a, albeit “nice” little timber framed, brick skinned, concrete rendered extension of my parents house - which is a wooden A frame. I was made to put on a hipped roof obviously to stop me having two bedrooms. And of course, more crucially, it’s not legally mine. Though I pay the mortgage it belongs to my mother because it’s an extension of her house. I have a brother and sister and the house is their legacy too. So when the time comes we may have to sell up. If we do I’ll be back to square one and it will all have been for nothing.
Even though I have lived here most of my life, went to school here, have a business here, pay all my taxes etc the council made me feel I was a second class citizen in my own land and that my needs were secondary to their own peculiar and particularly urban vision for Arran.
What is going to happen when Arran is populated only by the people who can afford it?
Well the future is here and it scares the hell out of me.

Ailsa McNicol

 

In a continuing effort to raise the profile of HIFAR and its aims, we write to our elected member of Parliament and to the First Minister:

 

HIFAR
 Housing initiative for Arran residents
www.hifar.co.uk 

H Murdo
Dunfion House
Corriegills
Brodick
Arran KA27 BBL
Tel. 01770 30 2393

Dear Mr Wilson MSP

I am writing to you on behalf of HIFAR which has been created to find a solution to the desperate situation faced by the people of Arran who are witnessing the exodus of our young people and the misery of our older working population who struggle to stay on the Island in short term rents, caravans or with parents. At 270 on the housing waiting list, we are the worst in the country and probably have as many more who don’t bother to register. The web site is there for all to use and I would be very interested to have your opinion.
We are facing the destruction of our community and our essential services will soon be in a state of terminaI decline. The solutions are obvious but need strong urgent political action, the lack of which has made the creation of this web site necessary
If you wish to discuss any of the issues raised by the web site then feel free to phone me at any time.

Yours sincerely,

Henry Murdo

 

Mr. Wilson's reply:

Allan Wilson MSP

24th November 2006         

H Murdo
Dunfion House
Corriegills
BRODICK
Isle of Arran
KA27 8BL

Dear Mr Murdo 

Affordable Housing

Thank you for your recent undated letter regarding the above matter.

There is particular need I believe, for socially rented housing for Benefit claimants and those on low incomes and further need for affordable housing for Arran residents on modest income.

Such issues are clearly tied to the supply of land for housing development and the proportionate share of that land which does come on the market for development, for socially rented housing. Tying the prospective worth of that land to its actual value rather than its development value is an important part of what is a complex equation.

I was interested, in your suggestion that the solution to this and other problems are "obvious" and I would he grateful, therefore, for your own views on what you describe as the "political action" necessary to address the shortfall in the supply of affordable housing over demand for same.

There are clearly real challenges facing people on below average incomes when house prices continue to rise unabated as is presently the case on the island, and the Executive is already taking concerted action to address this, both in the aforementioned provision of additional affordable housing and also through our Homestake Shared Equity Scheme.

The land release should not be simply about building homes for the wealthy and Isle of Arran Homes, with support from Communities Scotland have been acquiring land to build affordable homes. Our planning reforms are set to make a real difference to affordable housing to secure such provision in new developments, with the aim of meeting need and creating mixed communities. The/I

The local authorities are making good use of our existing planning guidance which sets a benchmark of 25% of new developments to be affordable housing where this is needed. Provision is also available for councils to make use of new flexibility in setting second and empty homes council tax levels to lever in significant extra investment for affordable housing projects.

Of course, there is also more that can be done and I would be grateful for your own views in order that I can ensure that they are forwarded to the working group which we have established specifically to look at innovative ways of increasing the supply of affordable housing.

Hoping this is of assistance to you.

Yours sincerely

 

ALLAN WILSON
MSP For Cunninghame North

Parliamentary Information Centre, 55 Hamilton Street, Saltcoats, KA21 5DX
 Tel: 01294 605040  Fax: 01294 601299
Email: awilson2@btconnect.com

 

Henry's reply to the reply:

HIFAR
 Housing initiative for Arran residents
www.hifar.co.uk 

H Murdo
Dunfion House
Corriegills
Brodick
Arran KA27 BBL
Tel. 01770 30 2393

Dear Mr Wilson MSP

Thank you for your reply. With regard to "obvious solutions" and "political action" we have had lengthy discussions with Arran Homes who have been restricted by NACs refusal to extend the village boundaries and their unfavourable zoning of the little building land available. In addition there are over sixty houses belonging to Arran Estates which are lying empty in various states of decay which could be brought into the housing stock through compulsory purchase with the existing planning laws.
One local building firm has 500 of the existing plots within the village boundaries and 315 of these have planning permission granted. So far there has been no 25% affordable houses as the cheapest cost £160,000 are way beyond the reach of local workers. There are two other major land owners, one of whom has been helpful to Arran Homes and the other not, resulting in severe restrictions on the ability of Arran Homes to reduce the waiting list. NAC have the power to change this situation but have taken no action.
We intend to lobby for planning decisions to taken on the Island by an elected committee of local residents and also to form a local group to establish forest crofts which could be of great assistance to those able to self build and others through Homestake or similar schemes.
I have had long discussions with Craigforth and hope their recommendations will go a long way to help lift the planning restrictions which are part of the problem but we do need to tackle this with all the different means possible and having our own planning decisions taken by Islanders is crucial. We have got into this desperate situation being ruled by an Urban council with no idea of the needs peculiar to an Island community.

Yours sincerely.

Henry Murdo

 

Mr. Wilson's reply to the reply to the reply:

Allan Wilson MSP

24th November 2006          

H Murdo
Dunfion House
Corriegills
BRODICK
Isle of Arran
KA27 8BL

Dear Mr Murdo 

Thank you for your letter, undated, received by me on 1st December 2006, regarding the Housing Initiative for Arran Residents.

Please note that I am in discussions with North Ayrshire Council in relation to a number of matters which you have raised and when l am in receipt of their further advice I will be in touch with you further in this regard. 

In the interim, I can advise that I too have spoken at length with Alan Downie of Craigforth and feel sure that their recommendations will have a significant impact on future policy in this regard.

As you will appreciate, every area in Scotland has its own distinct housing pressures and needs. Development plans have a central role in ensuring that land is available for all kinds of housing development in the right quantities and in the right places. A Scottish Executive review is underway to examine longer term options of what mechanisms can be used o unlock land and how it should be designated.

As you may be aware, a recently approved Planning Bill introduced a hierarchy into the planning system where planning applications will he dealt with differently depending on whether their developments of national, major or local or minor significance. As well as introducing a range of measures for introducing opportunities for communities to participate in development planning and on individual planning applications, it also introduces new provision for the decision making and appeals to be devolved to a local level in certain cases.

Hoping this is of assistance to you.

Yours sincerely

ALLAN WILSON
MSP For Cunninghame North

Parliamentary Information Centre, 55 Hamilton Street, Saltcoats, KA21 5DX
 Tel: 01294 605040  Fax: 01294 601299
Email: awilson2@btconnect.com

 

A letter to Mr. Jack McConnell

 

DUNFION BAGPIPES
BRODICK
 ISLE OFARRAN
 SCOTLAND
 KA27 8BL
TEL 01770302393
 email dunfionbagpipes@btinternet.com
 www.arransites.co.uk/bagpipes
 22 October 2006

Dear First Minister,

My congratulations on your purchase of a second home in Lamlash and I would be obliged if you will look at a web site that has been set up for the use of Arran residents past and present. www.hifar.co.uk.

It is only two weeks old and has long way to go, but already has a few contributions that I am sure you will find interesting. You will be well aware of the cost of housing on Arran, and the desperate situation faced by all working people on Arran who have no hope of ever being able to buy or build a home. All of our children have no option but to leave the island and the web site is there to collect their views and hopes and find a solution to this desperate problem. There are many different ways of solving this problem which require positive and strong action from our politicians before the local community is destroyed beyond repair. I hope you will take the time to read the web site and look forward to hearing your opinions.

Yours sincerely, 

Henry Murdo

To date (13th December 2006), no correspondence whatever has been received from the First Minister's Office.

 

My name is Kirstie Smith and I have lived on the isle of Arran for my entire life (24 years).
Looking back I can remember when young people were settled in the thought that this was an island of a strong thriving community, where the worries of money & unaffordable housing did not exist & when holiday makers RENTED houses in the summer months & did not OWN them to spend 3 weeks a year in & leave them empty for the rest.

It is a very unsettling & frustrating feeling to drive around the island in the winter months &  to see houses in darkness with no occupants whilst most of us young folk are desperate for somewhere affordable to buy/rent..

There has to be some sort of way to stop this from happening as the more the house prices rise on the island the more unlikely anybody local will be able to afford their own home here.

So many people nowadays have no hope in settling on Arran because it seems right now that there is no hope. They have given up on their Arran life  and the island is now known as the ROCK - some sort of holiday island with no future for young people because they can't afford to stay here.
Arran is a beautiful, fascinating place, rich in history with spectacular scenery. Young Arran people should be able to relax & enjoy that knowing that this is their home & be secure in the thought that it always will be.
Holiday makers should come and go & shouldn't be allowed to shove us Arran folk overseas, it is like the clearances all over again but a 21st century version. I don't want to have to never be able to settle down here, this is my home & this is where my heart is.
We need people to take over our emergency services when our elders retire. What is going to happen if there are no young folk left? It is a disaster waiting to happen. Unless we all get lucky & win the euro millions we don't stand a chance of getting our own house here.
Something needs to be done about it and only us young local folk can do something about it..
If you feel strongly about this situation, please speak up as we cant all hide away thinking the problem will sort itself because it won't!