The project to establish affordable rented Co-Housing homes in St Margaret’s Hope is hosting a free event where you can find out about establishing community led housing in Orkney.

Places Called Home will be held on Friday 13th May at The St Magnus Centre, Kirkwall. There are two sessions: 2 – 5pm, and 7 – 9pm.

Participants will include:

• Island Development Trusts, who play a key role in sustaining the life of communities.
• Hope Cohousing Community Interest Company who are focusing on the housing and well-being of older people in Orkney
• OIC’s Empty Homes Project which is working to reduce the number of long-term empty homes in the county helping to enhance Orkney’s communities and economy.
• ‘ASPIRE’ whose Covid 19 economic recovery plan for Orkney highlights the critical link between jobs, education and housing.

Hosted by Orkney’s Hope Cohousing project, it is part of the ’Places Called Home’ initiative, funded by Ikea and the National Lottery Community Fund.

This is the first in a series of Roadshows co-ordinated by Cohousing Scotland.

Andrew Prendergast, Convener of Cohousing Scotland explained that cohousing:

“… puts communities and people in the driving seat when designing their own homes. Cohousing is a form of co-operative housing common in Scandinavia and other northern European countries, and we think it has a tremendous relevance to communities in Scotland.”

The day will be split into 2 sessions and people can attend one or both. Attendance is free and refreshments will be provided.

In the afternoon, 2pm – 5pm, there will be a drop in for people to come and meet the local groups and learn more about different initiatives.

During this session the ‘Imagine If’ team, a group of young architects from Edinburgh, will be hosting their interactive game to explore exactly what ‘home’ means and what our living spaces might look like in the future.

In the evening, 7pm – 9pm, a guest panel will lead a discussion about new directions for housing in Orkney. Panel members to include Luke Fraser, (ASPIRE), Jenny Rambridge, (Hope Cohousing), Norrie MacPhail, (Cohousing Scotland) and Davie Campbell (Shapinsay Development Trust).

Everyone welcome.

Just drop in or book a place by going to hopecohousing.org/events

Welcoming the event, Liam MacArthur Orkney Constituency MSP , LibDem commented:

 “A lack of affordable housing is a real challenge for many island and rural communities.  It is important that we find innovative solutions to meeting this challenge, particularly in the context of an ageing population.

“I would encourage anyone with an interest in Orkney’s future housing needs to come along. The more ideas are shared the better chance we have of meeting those needs going forward.”