Eco village planned for Highland lochside upsets neighbours
Residents living on the banks of Loch Duich face a ‘threat on the horizon’, it is claimed.
A tiny, secluded Highland community claims it has been “ignored” as plans take shape for an eco-village on its doorstep.
Proposals to bring much-needed affordable homes and business units to the West Highlands have been drawn up by Kyle and Lochalsh Community Trust (KLCT).
The plans centre around old public forestry land at Ratagan and Saraig by Loch Duich, where a scattering of houses overlook the water towards the Five Sisters of Kintail.
Six affordable homes and two business units have been proposed for Ratagan, with three or possibly four sites earmarked for a mix of affordable and self-build homes at Saraig. Five woodland crofts have also been proposed, along with a community growing area.
But a handful of residents already living on the water’s edge have claimed they were unaware of the proposals until it was too late.
The trust claimed there had been a “wide consultation” but added no direct contact with those living at Saraig or Ratagan had been made as part of that process.
Nadja Eckerle, an author and broadcaster, has lived in Saraig for 14 years.
Ms Eckerle said: “I think I speak on behalf of everyone in Saraig when I say we are all in favour of affordable housing. I have friends who cannot find a house, I have friends whose 30-year-old son is still living at home because he can’t afford to go anywhere.
"I completely see the situation and that it is necessary, but the way the trust has gone about it, such as ignoring the people who live there, well it is not a way to do business.
"It has felt very much that people who do not live here, but live on the other side of the loch or somewhere else , have a plan of what to do with our backyard and impose it on us without speaking to the people concerned.
"If they are community spirited, they should be asking the people who live there about their opinions."
She added: "The whole thing feels like a threat on the horizon but it has made people very weary."
Forestry Land Scotland approved the transfer of around 20 hectares of land to the trust in February, following a request made by the trust last October.
Objections from Saraig and Ratagan were then lodged with FLS.
The eco-village has been proposed to attract younger people and families to the Loch Duich area, where 42 per cent of the population is aged 60 and over, and support the local primary school where pupil numbers are falling.
Several pieces of research into community concerns and housing needs in Lochalsh - home to around 2,100 people - also helped to inform the eco-village proposals.
Susan Walker, community development officer at KLTC, said: “The trust does feel a sense of frustration that those who raised concerns engaged too late in the process to give time for the trust to address those concerns before the deadline for the Community Asset Transfer (CATs) application and the funding application, despite community members having been offered numerous, well publicised opportunities to do so, which many people took up.”
After an application to Scottish Land Fund for finance to buy the forestry land was approved, a meeting on April 8 was offered with residents, but never taken up given residents felt it was too late to make a difference.
On the lack of direct contact with residents affected, Ms Walker added: “We would needed to have sent a letter to everyone living in the community and we didn’t have a budget for that.
“The consultation was done by making everything public and being invited to engage with it and there were multiple opportunities.”
She added that views will invited as part of the planning process and that the trust “will continue to seek to engage positively”.
FLS said there had been “extensive consutlation and engagement” with residents on the land sale between 2020 and 2024.
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