Carbon Neutral Islands: financing roadmap

Island Annex – Raasay

This section outlines the proposed developments in Raasay, coordinated by Local Anchor Organisations and Community Development Officers who are responsible for leading the implementation of the CNI project at the local level.

Island Context

Economic Activity:

Key areas include tourism, food and drink and agriculture.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Total: 1257tCO2e

Agriculture: 513tCO2e

Energy: 1667tCO2e

LULUCF: -1890tCO2e

Transport: 789tCO2e

Waste: 178tCO2e

Projects

Inverarish Housing

Location: Inverarish, Raasay

Capital cost: TBC

Financial year: 2024/2025, 2025/2026, 2026/2027

Context: This project will deliver three affordable rental properties with zero direct emission heating systems through the deep retrofit of vacant homes in Inverarish, the main population center on Raasay. The properties, 3, 21 & 35 Inverarish Terrace, are situated in a traditional terraced row of cottages and are both undeveloped with the potential to become two two bed and a three bed property respectively. A strip of garden sits to the rear side of each property.

Raasay is attracting young people to live and work here; however, the lack of housing is significantly hindering the island’s development. Between January 2023 and January 2024, Raasay’s population grew by 8%, increasing from 179 to 194 residents. Notably, half of these new residents moved to Raasay for employment but have been forced to live in temporary accommodations year-round due to the scarcity of housing. Currently, 1 in 10 households on the island are living in caravans because of the lack of rental properties with second and empty homes taking up 50% of the island’s housing stock.

Local stakeholders: Communities Housing Trust – Torr Civils and Building – Home Energy Scotland Highlands & Islands Team.

Key risks: Funding challenges: risks around consistency of funding streams across years and the need to blend different funding resources.

Procurement challenges.

Lack of available skilled installers.

Community buy-in. Work must be completed to a high standard. In order to encourage future undertakings.

Conditions: challenges undertaking work in poor weather conditions.

Habitat Restoration

Location: Raasay-wide

Capital cost: £255,000 – 2025-2028

Financial year: 2024/2025, 2025/2026, 2026/2027, 2027/2028

Context: Raasay’s relatively small population, with a density of 3.1 people per km2 (half the Highland average), contrasts to its large land mass of 62 km2. This ecologically rich landscape is both a significant carbon sink and emitter. Woodlands are the largest sequestering mechanism, contrasting with peatlands which are large emitters.

This project is focusing on restoring habitats, through the removal of invasive species from priority areas, using local contractors. Tackling the twin-track problems of lack of prosperity and man-made environmental degradation.

Local stakeholders: Raasay Development Trust – Raasay Community – The Highland Council – Forestry and Land Scotland – Woodlands Trust – North Raasay Grazing Committee – Raasay House Community Company – Ireland Dúlra Rhododendron control project – Great Glen Ecology – Tracks Ecology – Tennessee University – Scottish Ministers – Community Woodlands Association – SAC Consultants – Highland Training Services – Private Landowners.

Key risks: Lack of continuous funding.

Lack of locally trained contractors.

Environmental degradation caused by malpractice.

Access to land not granted by landowners.

Accident on site.

Peatland Restoration

Location: Raasay-wide

Capital cost: N/A

Financial year: 2024/2025, 2025/2026

Context: Peatlands make up the majority of the island’s habitats. These habitats represent our biggest emission source and due to past management practices are largely in a degraded state. This project acts as an enabling lever to restore these areas.

Most of these peatlands are on land owned by the Scottish Ministers, with the land allocated as common grazings. The path towards restoration involves persuading both the landowner and tenant crofters to agree on carrying out restoration.

CNI has so far helped set up the process of restoration in one of the island’s two grazings. A feasibility study to determine the extent of the restoration is planned.

To enable further restoration, a functioning grazing committee would need to be established on the remaining common grazing.

Local stakeholders: North Raasay Sheep Stock Club / Grazing Committee – Nature Scot.

Key risks: Lack of stakeholder cooperation.

Ecological damage in restoration works.

Loss of earnings for stakeholders.

Glasshouse Restoration

Location: Raasay House Gardens

Capital cost: £100,000 – £250,000 depending on scale

Financial year: 2025/2026

Context: Raasay Walled Garden is a community-owned garden that has weekly harvests throughout summer providing seasonal fruit and veg. The addition of temperature-controlled glass houses will increase the growing season, allowing more produce to be successfully grown and allow the walled garden a space for hosting events/classes around local food production that would bring in unrestricted income to increase gardener hours and in turn produce output.

Local stakeholders: Raasay House Community Company – Community Organisation that owns the walled garden.

Key risks: Failing in obtaining listed building consent.

Securing full capital funding.

Raasay House Sustainable Heating

Location: Raasay House

Capital cost: £300,000 – £600,000

Financial year: 2024/2025, 2025/2026

Context: This project involves retrofitting the heating and energy system of Raasay House, a grade A listed 16th-century estate house on Raasay owned by the community landlord Raasay House Community Company (RHCC).

Operated as a hotel and outdoor centre by the tenant. The building is a synonymous with the islands identity and has been in community ownership since 2007.

The building’s current LPG boiler heating system is highly emissive and costly to operate. After some maintenance issues, CNI began discussions with the landlord and Tennant about installing a new low carbon heating systems.

With both parties on board to investigate a low carbon heating system, an options appraisal was commissioned by CNI and CES. with the most suitable technology emerging as a Ground Source Heat Pump. Currently incorporating renewables is not feasible.

Being a building of unique circumstances, this project looks to be an example of delivering a low carbon heating systems which lowers the emissions of an old building while passing the benefits of this onto the community.

Local stakeholders: Raasay House Community Company Client/Building Owner – Raasay Outdoor Centre: Tenant – CNI Raasay/RDT: Local Delivery Partner – Community Energy Scotland – M&E: Expert Support – Rybka: Consultants – Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Key risks: Failing in obtaining listed building consen.

Securing full capital funding.

Energy costs savings less than projected.

Build costs higher than expected.

Community objections.

Geothermal resource less than expected.

Footpath Development

Location: Clachan

Capital cost: TBC

Financial year: 2025/2026

Context: Creating a walking path from the school park to the community hall along a 100m stretch of road that experiences heavy HGV traffic. This will create a safer route for pedestrians.

Local stakeholders: Highland Council – Hitrans – Community Council.

Key risks: Lack of access to land.

Renewable Energy

Location: Raasay-wide.

Capital cost: TBC

Financial year: 2025/2026: pre-project planning

2026/2027: starting feasibility and design

2027/2028: capital fundraising and construction

Context : Exploring the renewable energy potential on Raasay, focusing on how to meet the island’s energy demand through sustainable sources. The project will also consider setting up community-owned renewable energy to supply power to the incoming electric.

Local stakeholders: TBC

Key risks: TBC

Rainforest Restoration

Location: Raasay-wide

Capital cost: Estimate: £20,000

Financial year: 2025/2026 onwards

Context: Protect the remaining fragments of temperate rainforest on the island, specifically on the east coast. Create an environment where this forest is regenerating.

While linked to the habitat restoration, this project will face unique challenges given the complexities of land use and ownership, hence the need for it to be its own project.

Local stakeholders: Scottish Ministers – Grazing Committees and Crofters.

Key risks: Lack of land manager cooperation.

Insufficient long term funding.

Community Transport

Location: Raasay

Capital cost: Community transport: £50,000 – Purchase price for mobility hub: TBC

Financial year: 2025/2026, 2026/2027

Context: The community shop has approached CNI wanting to collaborate on a community transport project. This vehicle would collect and deliver shop food, do weekly runs across to Skye to enable people to collect prescriptions and shopping and run an on island service for residents. There is the potential to add tourist transport to this during the summer months.

CNI Raasay would also like to explore the possibility of a mobility hub in Sconser promoting joined-up public transport and potentially offering a car club and freight storage service.

There is no public transport system currently on Raasay, and as such car ownership is high. However, a 2022 household survey found that 15% of households on Raasay are occupied by people with special transport needs. A further 20% of households reported that there are journeys they would like to make but cannot due to inaccessible or unaffordable transport. There is a ferry service that connects Raasay to Skye but there is no supplementary public transport around its timetable, and no way of getting to or from the ferry by public transport.

As residents rely on getting to Skye for doctors appointments, prescriptions, food and fuel; regular travel off the island is a common occurrence and with no reliable public transport options, car ownership is a necessity.

Local stakeholders: CORRA (Community Shop) – Raasay Development Trust – Community Council.

Key risks: Lack of resource funding for long term management.

Lack of community use.