The Rural Housing Service helped the community get funds from the Highland Council to have the cottages valued and to find out renovation costs. We then helped put together a successful application for funds to help the community buy the cottages. We helped to secure grants from the council and Moray Badenoch & Strathspey Enterprise to renovate the cottages and negotiated a loan at preferential rates from the Triodos Bank to make up the difference. We also helped to broker an agreement between the community and the council for the council to lease the houses for 20 years. The houses are now let to local people.

See Case Study: Strathmashie Cottages