Four homes for long-term affordable rent were built at Ulva Ferry on the west coast of Mull, on two plots of land. One plot was bought with Scottish Land Fund money and one was donated by a local landowner.
MICT handed the keys to new tenants in May 2021, four years after the project began. The £1.3M scheme followed years of feasibility work and fundraising.
TO CONFIRM: The client brief lists this project as in progress, which is what has been set here. The old page describes the houses as handed over to tenants in May 2021 and reads as finished. MICT to confirm the current stage, and whether later phases are meant.
Who the homes were for
Working with Ulva School Community Association (USCA), MICT identified continuing housing need after the first two houses were completed in 2017. That need covered smaller homes for young people and older members of the community as well as family sized homes.
Thirty-one applications were received. A locally agreed, points based allocation policy was used to choose tenants. All four had experienced significant housing need.
“The positive impact MICT have had on us and other families can genuinely not be underestimated, and securing our home is truly life changing.” New tenant
Tenants have secure tenancies, affordable rents and high quality, energy efficient homes. MICT is a registered private landlord and works with West Highland Housing Association, which helps with allocations, management support and advice to tenants.
What the homes mean for Ulva Ferry
The four houses increased the resident working age population by 10% and the school roll by 50%. From August 2021 there were 15 primary age children at Ulva Ferry, 11 of them living in housing owned by MICT.
Ten years earlier, the local primary school had been threatened with closure.
USCA Convenor Josh Liddle said, “it is fantastic to welcome four new households to Ulva Ferry, which will really boost local jobs and our primary school roll, and make for a stronger community overall”.
How they were built
The houses were built by modular contractor The Wee House Company. Each house is made of between four and six modules depending on its size, and 90% of the construction was completed under factory conditions at the company’s Cumnock facility. That meant site preparation could happen at the same time.
Construction on site took seven months and was completed on budget, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and a very cold winter. From delivery of the modules to residents moving in took a matter of weeks.
Funding
The build was made possible by grants from the Scottish Land Fund, the Scottish Government’s Rural & Islands Housing Fund and Argyll & Bute Council’s Strategic Housing Fund, a mortgage from Ecology Building Society, and many local donations. The Rural & Islands Housing Fund grant was £777,855 and the Strategic Housing Fund grant was £48,000.
The Housing Project Officer’s post was funded by The Prince’s Countryside Fund, Nationwide Foundation and Highlands & Islands Enterprise. The Prince’s Countryside Fund grant of £18,000 came through its Rural Four programme, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Rural Housing Scotland, Community Land Scotland and West Highland Housing Association gave support throughout.
TO CONFIRM: The old page names the same funder as “Nationwide Foundation” in one place and “Nationwide Community Fund” in another. Confirm which is correct.
Marking the land purchase at Oskamull
As part of Community Land Week, USCA and MICT held a celebration at Ulva Ferry on 16 August 2019, at the plot at Oskamull bought by MICT on behalf of the community with Scottish Land Fund money. Children from Ulva Primary planted tree saplings and wildflower seed bombs and buried a time capsule, not to be opened until 2050. The day finished with a family ceilidh at the school.
Thanks went to Lucy from Lip na Cloiche Garden for donating the saplings, Iain MacKay for the fencing, the pupils and staff of Ulva Primary School, the Mimi Spence Ceilidh Band, Alan Jack for MC duties, Còisir Òg Mhuile for the singing, and the USCA committee.
Get in touch
To discuss affordable housing anywhere in Mull and Iona, contact Helen MacDonald on 01680 812 912 or email hmacdonald@mict.co.uk.
The first phase of this work is described on Ulva Ferry Housing Phase 1.