A major conference looking at affordable housing in rural parts of Scotland is taking place in the Cairngorms National Park this weekend, Friday 1 to Sunday 3 October.

The annual Rural and Islands Housing Associations Forum (RIHAF) conference will cover a range of issues concerning rural Housing Associations, including energy efficiency and the use of sustainable Scottish timber and timber products for constructuion.

Speaking ahead of the conference, RIHAF chairperson and Cairngorms National Park Authority Board Member Anne MacLean said: This conference is set to be one of the most dynamic and interesting we have had to date.

There is a wide variety of speakers, workshops and discussion forums to look forward to and I hope that by Sunday, we will be able to leave with some pretty interesting and innovative ideas to take forward”

MSPs Mary Scanlon (Conservative), Eleanor Scott (Green), Maureen MacMillan (Labour) and Alisdair Morgan (SNP) will attend the event on Saturday afternoon to put forward their own party’s policies on how they plan to tackle the issue of affordable housing.

On Sunday, CNPA chief executive Jane Hope and the CNPA’s Housing Policy Officer Fiona Munro will be leading a session on National Parks – why they were formed, hopes for the future and how Housing Associations can work in partnership with the CNPA and the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority.

Jane Hope commented: ” I am really pleased that this conference on affordable housing is taking place within the Park. This is an issue that comes up time and time again and the CNPA isaiming to work very closely with partners over the coming years in a bid to solve the problem”