North Cloich Woodland, June 2020. Young broadleaf trees sheltered by the faster growing sitka spruce which has self seeded across the site. Some huts will be immediately hidden between these established trees. As agreed with Scottish Borders Council's Landscape Architect, in other parts of the woodland more trees are to be planted to screen the huts from view.
North Cloich Huts
"The Scottish Government has an ambitious target to increase woodland cover in Scotland from around 19% to 21% of the land area by 2032. These new woodlands will absorb and store carbon and will provide a wide range of environmental, economic and social benefits."
https://www.fas.scot/news/woodland-creation-management-conservation-support/
Tree establishment and maintenance needs people, and the time and energy that people bring with them. Owning and planting part of a woodland, and having a dry place in which to sit out a storm, would deliver multiple resources in the form of people and their varied skills and interests, to North Cloich. Hutting at North Cloich will therefore help to deliver the Scottish Government multi-benefit target as described in the quote above.
The plans are for 15 huts to be located each within their own woodland parcel, spaced throughout the site. Woodland parcels, ranging in size from 0.5 - 2 acres, and huts, will be in private ownership (apart from plot 9, which is reserved for use by charities). Public transport links are well within access of the site and use of public transport (plus e-bicycles, electric vehicles and car sharing) is encouraged, although provision will be made for car parking. Hutters will be responsible for building their own hut (self-build and/or with a local contractor), and for the establishment, care and maintenance of tree cover within their woodland parcel.
Hutters will be required to sign up to a code of conduct, governing environmental and social aspects such as keeping the areas outside huts tidy and prohibiting anti-social behaviour. One representative per woodland parcel will also be required to join North Cloich Woodland Hutters Association. The hutters association will arrange the upkeep of shared elements of the hutting site. Hut rentals will be strictly forbidden to ensure that the site remains a locally embedded community of like-minded hutters, not a tourist location.
An additional parcel of the woodland will be owned by the hutters association and will be designated as a forest garden to be worked communally by the hutters for sustainable production of food and non-timber forest products.
https://www.fas.scot/news/woodland-creation-management-conservation-support/
Tree establishment and maintenance needs people, and the time and energy that people bring with them. Owning and planting part of a woodland, and having a dry place in which to sit out a storm, would deliver multiple resources in the form of people and their varied skills and interests, to North Cloich. Hutting at North Cloich will therefore help to deliver the Scottish Government multi-benefit target as described in the quote above.
The plans are for 15 huts to be located each within their own woodland parcel, spaced throughout the site. Woodland parcels, ranging in size from 0.5 - 2 acres, and huts, will be in private ownership (apart from plot 9, which is reserved for use by charities). Public transport links are well within access of the site and use of public transport (plus e-bicycles, electric vehicles and car sharing) is encouraged, although provision will be made for car parking. Hutters will be responsible for building their own hut (self-build and/or with a local contractor), and for the establishment, care and maintenance of tree cover within their woodland parcel.
Hutters will be required to sign up to a code of conduct, governing environmental and social aspects such as keeping the areas outside huts tidy and prohibiting anti-social behaviour. One representative per woodland parcel will also be required to join North Cloich Woodland Hutters Association. The hutters association will arrange the upkeep of shared elements of the hutting site. Hut rentals will be strictly forbidden to ensure that the site remains a locally embedded community of like-minded hutters, not a tourist location.
An additional parcel of the woodland will be owned by the hutters association and will be designated as a forest garden to be worked communally by the hutters for sustainable production of food and non-timber forest products.
North Cloich hut practicalities
Huts are specifically designed to be low impact, for occasional use by their woodland owners, and removable if no longer needed. Basic needs such as heating, water and sanitation will be met, but huts will not be connected to mains water or electricity. Stoves will be the most likely form of occasional heating, with their installation required to conform to the Technical Guidance of the Domestic Scottish Building Standards - this includes requirements for carbon monoxide and smoke alarms, and fire extinguishers. Rainwater will be harvested for washing, and drinking if treated. Drinking water will also be brought to site by individual hutters. Without a piped water supply huts do not need a wastewater disposal system.
Dry composting toilets will combine with leaves and sawdust to break down naturally into organic tree fertiliser. Any non-compostable rubbish will be taken back home by hut owners.
There is a wealth of information available on low-impact living solutions suitable for huts on the internet, but a good place to start is the Building Services section of the Thousand Huts website:
https://www.thousandhuts.org/buildingservices
Dry composting toilets will combine with leaves and sawdust to break down naturally into organic tree fertiliser. Any non-compostable rubbish will be taken back home by hut owners.
There is a wealth of information available on low-impact living solutions suitable for huts on the internet, but a good place to start is the Building Services section of the Thousand Huts website:
https://www.thousandhuts.org/buildingservices