Never give up...

I was on Iona today to hold an advice surgery and I was delighted to see this - not a typical scenic or   cultural view of the island, but a real testament to vision and persistence.

At the first advice surgery I held on the island four years ago Carol Kirkpatrick came to see me about the Iona Housing Partnership.  At that time it had been going for more than a decade and aimed to build affordable rented housing on the island, where there is a real housing shortage and where there is virtually nothing affordable and absolutely nothing prioritised for social need. 

The Partnership  had managed to identify a site  and obtain it from the National Trust, which owns the island,  but they were still trying to persuade Argyll & Bute Council and the Scottish Government to close a major funding gap on the project, caused by the very high costs of building on an island off an island, as Iona is.   They were determined and they were not going to give up, despite a number of refusals.  

I did what I could to help, writing to successive housing ministers and others  and working with local councillors and especially Mary Jean Devon who lives on Mull.   I met with Carol many more times and I was therefore  absolutely thrilled at the end of last year when the project finally got the  finance it needed and an agreement to work  with the West Highland Housing Association which  was essential if it was to conform to legal and regulatory requirements.  

So it was great to see not just ground broken but tangible progress.  I now can't wait to post a picture of the houses up and occupied.