AMAZE Climate Action Project Tender Opportunity
** Contract Opportunity ** working with our islands’ communities on an exciting, new climate action project! See the tender documents here for full details.
** Contract Opportunity ** working with our islands’ communities on an exciting, new climate action project! See the tender documents here for full details.
MICT is committed to supporting those in housing need across our islands, and this includes our plans for further affordable housing at Ulva Ferry. We are excited to be planning 4 houses, which will be offered for long-term rent to those in housing need. As previously, the houses will be very energy efficient to ensure low heating bills for tenants.
Plans are still at an early stage, as we carry out site investigation works on two plots of land at Ulva Ferry in community ownership, but we hope to start building next year. Community-led housing development projects are never easy and there are added costs of building so rurally, such as installing private water supplies.
We have launched a fundraising appeal to help move the project forward. While we will be applying for grant and loan funding to cover the majority of project costs, we would be grateful for any donations, which will be directly spent on build costs.
Donations to the housing project can be made online or by sending cheques payable to ‘Mull and Iona Community Trust’ to An Roth, Craignure, Isle of Mull, PA65 6AY.
For more details about the housing project, or if you are interested in renting one of the planned houses, please contact Helen MacDonald on 01680 812 900 or email hmacdonald@mict.co.uk.
MICT are delighted to receive a grant of £18,000 from the Prince’s Countryside Fund in their most recent round of Rural Four funding, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery. Rural Four aims to support communities in the British countryside cope with isolation and its related issues, with a focus on connecting residents and encouraging the development of community hubs.
The grant for Mull and Iona Community Trust will build on an existing project to part fund a Housing Project Officer, overseeing the development of four new houses for long term affordable rent in Ulva Ferry, on the Isle of Mull. MICT aims to work with the local community to ensure that key decisions at all stages of the project are made by community members, from design through to allocation.
Mull and Iona Community Trust General Manager, Moray Finch, commented, “We are delighted to receive this grant from The Prince’s Countryside Fund, which will enable our Housing Project Officer to take forward plans to deliver four houses for long-term affordable rent at Ulva Ferry on the rural west coast of the Isle of Mull”.
Community member Josh Liddle, added, “Four houses might not seem much, but in our small community these much-needed new homes will ensure there are more pupils in our primary school, more working age adults to boost local employment and a stronger community overall. This support from The Prince’s Countryside Fund will ensure we can make our plans a reality.”
The Prince’s Countryside Fund is open for grant applications until February 21st 2019. Grants of up to £25,000 are available to support community shop and pub projects in rural areas, or grants of up to £50,000 are available for projects that improve the prospects of viability for family farm businesses or support building resilience in rural areas.
The Prince’s Countryside Fund was established by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2010 and aims to enhance the prospects of family farm businesses and the quality of rural life. We believe that the British countryside is our most valuable natural asset and its contribution to our everyday life cannot be underestimated.
Click here for more information on the Ulva Ferry Housing Project Phase 2.