AFFORDABLE homes are to be built in one of Scotland's most sought after beauty spots after the landowner donated a plot worth more than £150,000 to developers.
The five new properties in Luss, on the banks of Loch Lomond, will be aimed at local families who might otherwise struggle to afford a home in the area where demand for holiday homes means a two bedroom terrace typically fetches upwards of £200-300,000.
Luss Estates has donated the site at School Road in Luss to Link Housing to support the development of affordable housing.
Sir Malcolm Colquhoun, Luss Estates chairman, said: "We have been in negotiation with Link Housing for some time and I am delighted that we are now able to make this major commitment to the future of Luss.
"I very much hope that these new houses will be made available to local families - our main aim is to ensure that they are able to stay in the area."
Luss Estates has undertaken to provide further financial support, if required, to bridge the gap between available grant funding and the actual build costs of the new houses.
Former local MSP and Labour candidate, Jackie Baillie, welcomed the announcement.
She said: "After so many years in the planning, I am thrilled that Luss Estates has made this generous gift.
"I look forward to seeing affordable family housing delivered in Luss, and I urge eligible local residents to make sure that they are registered appropriately with Argyll & Bute Housing and Link Housing".
The village, on the western boundary of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, is around 30 miles from Glasgow and became familiar to viewers across Scotland during the 1980s and 90s as the setting for soap opera, Take the High Road.
Its spectacular scenery, picture-postcard cottages and position on the “Bonnie Banks” of Loch Lomond lure some 750,000 domestic and overseas tourists and day trippers every year. The influx prompted calls from some residents in April to erect a barrier to prevent visitors from bringing their cars into the village.
Luss dates back more than 1000 years, beginning life as an early Christian settlement, before being transformed in the 19th century by Sir Malcolm's ancestor, Sir James Colquhoun, into a model village to accommodate local slate quarry workers and their families. The land has belonged to the Colquhoun family for almost 800 years.
The latest development follows an 18 month study by urban design and economic development specialists looking at how to revive the village.
The result, named the Luss Strategic Development Framework, outlined ways of increasing the number of families in Luss, shifting the balance away from an ageing population, and sustaining the local primary school and other services reversing years of economic decline.
It also laid out strategies to maximize the benefits to the village from the huge number of tourist it attracts, and creating a sustainable community - key to which was the provision of appropriate housing to retain and attract young families to Luss.
Sir Malcolm added: "It seems absolutely clear to me that the key to the future of places like Luss must lie in the development of economic opportunities, allied to the provision of family housing, which will in turn lead to the provision of secure, properly rewarded jobs, especially for the young."
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