North Ronaldsay schoolhouse project in the running for national award

A community-led scheme to turn a disused schoolhouse into affordable rented housing in North Ronaldsay has been named as a finalist in a national competition.

The project is now vying for the title of best collaborative project in the Howdens Scottish Empty Homes Champions of the Year Awards which are held annually to shine a spotlight on those battling to bring the country’s 39,000 empty homes back into use.

North Ronaldsay Trust have identified a shortage of rental homes as a barrier to families moving to the island. Ironically it is a shortage of families moving to the island that means the school and its schoolhouse are currently unused.

The Trust was able to win support from Orkney Island Council to lease the schoolhouse, offering people interested in trialling a move to the island a place to live without having to buy property. It has sourced funding and renovated the property which had been empty for several years.

Shaheena Din, national manager of the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership which organises the awards, said: “Scotland is beginning to turn a corner on empty homes with more than a thousand empty properties brought back into use in a single year in 2018-2019, the first time that milestone had been passed since the partnership was set up in 2010.

“These awards are a chance to celebrate all the hard work of people like empty homes officers, housing associations and community groups who realise that these properties are a massive asset in the face of our housing emergency. I want to wish all our finalists the best of luck.”

Phil Hanson, depot manager for Howdens Joinery, which is sponsoring the awards for a fourth year, said: “I’d like to congratulate this year’s finalists. With entries from Ayrshire to Orkney we have seen a huge variety of exciting projects which are solving problems for owners and communities but most importantly providing homes for people to live in.”

The Scottish Empty Homes Partnership is funded by the Scottish Government and run by Shelter Scotland.