Eco-village on banks of Highland loch takes shape

Two sites at Ratagan and Saraig at Loch Duich in Wester Ross have been bought from Forestry Land Scotland by a community trust for the project.

Six affordable houses to rent, five woodland crofts, two business units and a community growing area are planned. Two affordable house plots and another for a house to be sold on the open market have also been proposed by the Kyle and Lochalsh Community Trust, with a campsite at Ratagan is also in the mix.

READ MORE: Eco-village planned for Highland lochside upsets neighbours

The trust has now appointed Highland housebuilders MAKAR to take the project forward.

Maggie Byrne, chair of KLCT, said: “We felt that MAKAR’s presentation showed a strong awareness of local challenges of depopulation, fuel poverty, the need for community infrastructure, and supporting local businesses.

“We were also impressed by the firm’s commitment to community engagement, placemaking, delivering low-carbon homes, and creating houses that are affordable to heat and live in.”

MAKAR was one of a number of practices that applied through the tender process set up by the Communities Housing Trust, with funding from the Scottish Government's More Homes Division.

As part of its submission, MAKAR developed a series of conceptual designs and visualisations setting out its vision for the project and demonstrating its approach to creating a thriving, sustainable new community.

MAKAR chief executive Neil Edgar said: “We are delighted to have been selected for this project. We look forward to developing the trust’s plan further as we work through the design stages alongside the trust and the local community, helping to shape a place that reflects local aspirations and supports future generations.”

MAKAR will now begin developing these ideas further as it works through the design stages alongside the Trust and the local community.

Affordable housing has been identified as the number one priority of residents living in the Kyle and Lochalsh area.

In the Plockton Community Council area alone, around a third of dwellings are not permanently lived in.

Meanwhile, only five per cent of housing is available for long-term rental.

READ MORE: Scotland’s rural communities in ‘quiet crisis’, ministers warned

In response to the issue, a short term let control area is being proposed for Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh.

This would make it compulsory for homeowners to seek planning permission to change the use of a property to an airbnb-style rental in a bid to limit numbers of such accommodation. However, it would not apply restrospectively to properties still run as such.

At Loch Duich, 42 per cent of the population is aged 60 and over with homes the new homes will support the local primary school where pupil numbers are falling.

Plans for the eco village ran into controversy last year. While the project fitted in with local priorities on affordable housing, those already living at Ratagan and Saraig - where a scattering of houses overlook the water towards the Five Sisters of Kintail - were not directly consulted about the proposals.

Forestry Land Scotland approved the transfer of around 20 hectares of land to the trust in February, following a request made by the trust in October 2024.

Objections from Saraig and Ratagan were then lodged with FLS.