Case Study: Crianlarich Railway Houses - page 2                previous page · next page

Background
Crianlarich is closely related to the development of the railway. The main lines from Fort William and Oban converge at Crianlarich as did a third line to Callander and Edinburgh until the early 1960's. British Rail built a number of properties in the village to house signalmen and line workers. Over the years these houses have been sold off to sitting tenants and on the open market. After privatisation the remaining houses became the property of British Rail Properties Board a residual part of the old BR. Their function is to manage and sell off the remaining BR property . Some of the Crianlarich properties had previously been sold at auction and by 1997 there remained 5 properties, 3 of which had lain empty for six years with little apparent interest by BR Properties Board in maintaining or letting the houses. These properties were a blight on the centre of the village.
 
 
   
the Railway Houses
The Railway Houses
 
The Community Initiative
The community approached British Rail Properties Board in January 1997 to enquire whether the Board would be willing to sell. The British Rail Properties Board were aware of the community's concern over the condition of the properties and confirmed their interest in selling to the community company, Strathfillan Community Development Trust (SCDT).
 
The Strathfillan Community Development Trust held meetings with Stirling Council and Rural Stirling Housing Association to explore how the houses might be bought and renovated for affordable rent. Stirling Council also provided information on a previous attempt to buy and renovate the houses.

An up to date valuation of the houses was obtained and Stirling Council and Community Self-Build Scotland helped to prepare budgets for the project which helped to quantify the amount of grant and loans that would be required to develop the properties.

The Trust and Community Council organised a meeting with Stirling Council, Rural Stirling Housing Association, Scottish Homes, Rural Housing Service and Community Self Build Scotland. The meeting considered the development options for the houses. These were: the Trust develop and manage the properties itself or for the whole project to be handed to Rural Stirling Housing Association.

At this stage the only funding committed to the project was improvement grant funding from Stirling Council. The Council also included the development in their bid to the Scottish Office Empty Homes Initiative. This bid was however unsuccessful.

Despite this setback the Stathfillan Community Development Trust decided that they would take on the project themselves and develop the houses for affordable rent. A Chartered surveyor was appointed to negotiate with BR Properties Board and to cost the renovation. He was also asked to manage the renovation contract to enable local tradespeople to tender for the work.

Funding
The unsuccessful bid to the Empty Homes Initiative left a £150,000 hole in the budget for the purchase and renovation of the properties. This hole was plugged by a grant of £95,000 from the Tudor Trust for the purchase costs and a £50,000 loan from the Charities Aid Foundation to fund the improvement work.

The loan from the Charities Aid Foundation was negotiated through their Investors in Society scheme. This loan was awarded over four years. As other banks were reluctant to lend to a new company with no track record the Charities Aid Foundation loan was crucial. It allowed the project to happen and helped the company build up a track record for more mainstream banks to whom the loan will be transferred after the four year period. The low interest rate from CAF also helps to keep rents at an affordable level.

The final funding package put together by the Trust was:
 
Grants
Tudor Trust
Stirling Council

Loans
Charities Aid Foundation Loan


Total
 

The Development
The Trust established a Housing Group to manage the development of the project, whilst also maintaining links with the Corrom Trust, Stirling Council and Rural Stirling Housing Association for advice.

The redevelopment of the houses began in 1998. The contract to renovate the properties was won by a consortium of local tradespeople who came together to bid for the contract. The work was finished ahead of schedule and within budget.
 
Derek Wilkie, a Director of the Strathfillan Community Development Trust, said

"It was important to the Trust that the renovation work should be done by local tradespeople and the investment kept in the community. Our commitment has been repaid by the quality of the work and the speed and commitment of the contractors"

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