Luss Estates gifts land in excess of £150,000 for family housing
Following the launch of the Luss Strategic Development Framework in 2013, Luss Estates Company is pleased to announce a significant development in the delivery of new family housing in Luss.
Luss Estates has agreed to gift a parcel of land at School Road in Luss to Link Housing, enabling the building of five affordable houses. The value of the land is in excess of £150,000, in addition to which Luss Estates has undertaken to provide further financial support, if required, to bridge the gap between available grant funding and the actual build costs of the new houses. Link Housing has undertaken to work closely with Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority to ensure that the new houses blend in with their surroundings and take into account the architecture and heritage of Luss.
Sir Malcolm Colquhoun, Luss Estates chairman said: “We have been in negotiation with Link Housing for some time and I am delighted that we are now able to make this major commitment to the future of Luss. I very much hope that these new houses will be made available to local families - our main aim is to ensure that they are able to stay in the area.”
Former local MSP and candidate Jackie Baillie is enthusiastic: “After so many years in the planning, I am thrilled that Luss Estates has made this generous gift. I look forward to seeing affordable family housing delivered in Luss, and I urge eligible local residents to make sure that they are registered appropriately with Argyll & Bute Housing and Link Housing”.
The Luss Strategic Development Framework was commissioned and funded by Luss Estates Company and produced by the award-winning urban design and economic development team at Page\Park Architects and Roger Tym Associates, following eighteen months of extensive research and consultation with the local community and key stakeholders including Argyll and Bute Council and Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority. It provides a clear roadmap for increasing the number of families in Luss, shifting the balance away from an aging population, sustaining the local primary school and other services, reversing years of economic decline, maximizing the benefits to the village from the huge number of tourist it attracts, and creating a sustainable community. The provision of appropriate housing to retain and attract young families to Luss was key to all of this.
Commented Sir Malcolm “It seems absolutely clear to me that the key to the future of places like Luss must lie in the development of economic opportunities, allied to the provision of family housing, which will in turn lead to the provision of secure, properly rewarded jobs, especially for the young.”
Luss is one of Scotland's most visited villages, a combination of spectacular scenery, picture-postcard cottages and its position on the “Bonnie Banks” of Loch Lomond contributing to its enduring popularity with domestic and overseas tourists and day trippers alike. A model village when it was first conceived and built back in the early 1800’s by Sir James Colquhoun, Sir Malcolm’s dearest wish is that Luss should once again become a thriving and vibrant community, a wonderful place for a family to call home.