Lochcarron welcomes new council houses

Six new Council homes in Lochcarron are the latest to be completed by The Highland Council as part of a 688-house Highland-wide project supported by the Scottish Government.

The new tenants of one of the houses were welcomed yesterday (Wednesday) by Councillor Graham Mackenzie, Chairman of the Community Services Committee, and Local Ward Member for Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh, Councillor Isabelle Campbell.  

Councillor Mackenzie said: “I am delighted to welcome Andrew and Teri Stewart and their family into their new home and hope that this is the first of many happy, warm Christmases that they enjoy here.  The houses are built to high standards, are low maintenance and are energy efficient.  Finding good quality affordable housing can be difficult, especially in more rural areas and it’s great to have such a large and varied build programme across the Highlands in constrained economic times.”  

The four flats and two bungalows in Kirkton Gardens have all been rented to tenants who are either existing council tenants who are transferring to a new home or are applicants from the Highland Housing Register.  Ownership and management of the six houses will remain in Council hands.   

Teri, who has recently moved in, said: “We are over the moon with the house, it is brilliant!”  

The new homes were built by local contractor O’Brien Properties and were successfully project managed by the Council.  The architect for the homes was Dingwall based Reynolds Architecture.  The six homes cost £0.800m with £276,000 grant funding from the Scottish Government.

Heating for the four flats is provided by electric storage units and the two houses benefit from wood burning stoves and air source heat pumps.