Estates firm takes top honour in Helping it Happen Awards

Stracathro Estates picked up the Rural Housing Award for the building of 11 houses, all for let to young, local working families at affordable rents of around 40 per cent less than the open market.

Although primarily agricultural, Stracathro Estates has a portfolio of 40 houses and cottages, the majority let under PRTs or SATs.

Recognising the dearth of affordable housing in North Angus, and by using Government grants, Stracathro Estates built 11 houses all for let at affordable rents. They are all three-bedroomed, and let to young local working families.

The 2014 scheme was a conversion of a traditional steading into five houses, retaining both the original footprint and the stone walls and slate roof. All houses are three-bedroomed, and all with individual gardens, with a communal playing field.

The 2021 scheme compromises six houses, again three-bedroomed and with their own gardens. These are new build and built to a high standard. Under slate roofs, local stone has been used on gable ends sills and lintels. It is intended to establish a community garden in the autumn.

The houses are environmentally friendly, with a communal boiler, fired by locally sourced biomass pellets provides hot water and heating to the six houses at Huntlyhill, whilst ground source heating, again communal, supplies hot water and heating to the new houses in Inchbare.

The motivation for building these houses was to ensure the community was sufficiently large and diverse in age to sustain the social capital of the school, village hall and the church.

The threat of closure hanging over the primary school has now been removed, although the church has now closed.

A play area was provided at Huntlyhill, and it is intended to construct a community garden adjacent to the houses in Inchbare. Both schemes were designed by local architects and constructed by local builders.

Finalists were shortlisted by an independent judging panel, and the winners revealed on October 5.