Rural Support Plan (RSP) - Annex

Croft House Grant

Croft House Grant - RP&S guidance

Description

Grant funding for crofters to build, improve and maintain croft housing including energy efficiency improvements. Grant rate depends on ‘Geographical Priority Area’ (new house: ‘high’ - £38k, ‘standard’ - £28k; house improvements: ‘high’ - 60% of costs up to £38k, ‘standard’ - 60% of costs up to £28k; energy efficiency measures: ‘high’ - 80% of costs up to £38k, ‘standard’ - 80% of costs up to £28k)

Purpose

Crofting tenure requires crofters to live within 32 kilometres of their croft and provide their own housing. Due to the nature of crofting as a form of land tenure and the predominance of self-build as a means to provide housing, it can be challenging for crofters to access conventional forms of housing finance. The geography of the Highlands and Islands, where the majority of crofts are located, leads to increased house building and improvement costs. The scheme is designed to ease some of this burden, attracting and retaining people within crofting and the crofting areas of Scotland, and sustaining crofting, and the benefits it brings, as a traditional means of land tenure

Contribution to Strategic Outcomes

High Quality Food Production

• CHG enables crofters to reside on their crofts and tend to their crops and/or livestock

Enabling Thriving Rural Communities

• CHG enables crofters to reside on and work their crofts facilitating continued business viability and continued contribution to rural economy

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

• CHG enables investment in energy efficiency measures

Method

Application

Key dates

Annual, application windows - 2 March, 2 June, 2 September, 2 December, payment window - in up to 3 stages/ on receipt of claims (maximum build time 36 months)

Eligibility

• You must occupy a croft as the owner-occupier crofter or tenant crofter, to be a cottar, or Kyles crofter
• You must be inadequately housed (your present accommodation is not sufficient/ of an adequate standard; you live with parents/ in a caravan/ in rented accommodation; or the agricultural activities/ business requires you to live on the croft)
• For energy efficiency grants, your present accommodation must have an EPC rating of less than C (or equivalent)
• Your croft must be located in the crofting counties.
• Levels of support are dependent on croft location (‘Geographical Priority Area’)

Requirements

• You must work the croft and use the house for domestic purposes only
• You must not have received or applied for grant aid from any other public source or have an asset value of £150k+
• You must adhere to statutory requirements, the conditions in your grant inc. Fair Work First and scheme conditions
• You will be eligible for inspections at any time during the 10 year period

Baseline payment information:

Budget circa £1.05M

No. of recipients circa 1,160 since 2007

Policy and delivery officials monitor and review the scheme annually