Sue Wylie is a local resident and more recently the Development manager for
Strathfillan Community Development Trust explains "Low wages, seasonal jobs,
high rents and properties converting to B&Bs or holiday homes are common
features of many rural communities that rely on tourism for the local economy.
The knock on effect is that many local people can't afford the high rents common
even in the public sector and for many, owning a home can be hard to imagine."
When the Strathfillan Community Council heard that British Rail was willing to
sell four of its old properties, they were determined that they should stay in
local ownership. "We set up a Community trust in 1997 to allow us to acquire
property," says Sue, "and managed to get most of what we needed to buy and
renovate the houses from grant sources. But we were still about £50,000 short of
our target." The Trustees were exhausted completing grant applications when
someone suggested a loan. "It was a pleasant surprise to find the loan
application process so straightforward," explains Sue. "We were helped to
understand all the options available an how best to achieve our goal of
affordable rents. The level of rent we set was directly related to the cost of
borrowing so we settled for a four-year bridging loan."
Once the money was in place the Trust set about renovating the properties and
saw the use of local labour as a way of reinvesting the money back into the
community. "We got a 100 percent commitment from the builders," says Sue. "Four
families are now happy in their new homes and our success has helped build the
community organisation. We are now working with a variety of other partners on a
regeneration strategy for the area including environmental and community
projects such as community woodlands, play and self-build housing."
For further information contact Strathfillan Community Development Trust:
Telephone: 01838 400 545
E-mail: threewillows@btinternet.com
Source: Loans for the Social Economy: Alternative Sources of Funding for
Not-for-Profit Organisations. (Leaflet, 2000) e-mail:
loans@regenfund.co.uk
