The Herald - The Herald Magazine
THE VOICE OF PROPERTY
Beverley Brown
SALMON farmers are calling for £10 million a year in licence fees to be reinvested in affordable housing to tackle the growing property crisis in rural Scotland.
New analysis by trade body Salmon Scotland reveals average home prices in areas where salmon farms operate have risen more sharply than the national average, while the average time it takes for local councils to provide housing assistance has soared. The lack of available, affordable housing is affecting the ability of people to live and work in Highland and Island communities.
As a result, Salmon Scotland has launched a campaign to overhaul the current system, so the millions sent to Crown Estate Scotland are instead directly ringfenced for coastal areas where farms operate. The organisation says this would echo the system in Norway where rents are used to benefit local communities. Scottish salmon generates more than 2,500 jobs across the Highlands and Islands, and the sector plays a key role in attracting people to come and live and work in coastal communities.
THE new town of Tornagrain, near Inverness, has secured £2 million from Bank of Scotland as it celebrates the completion of its 250th home and enters the second phase – building the next 500 homes. Moray Estates has been building Tornagrain near Inverness since 2018, with expansion plans in place over the next 50 years. The new town is designed to help with demand for housing in the Highlands, where the increasing popularity of short-term lets for tourists has made it difficult for locals to buy homes. To support the expanding town, the secured funding will be used to widen the road from the A96 to Tornagrain, which when completed later this year, will allow improved access for residents.
A LANDMARK house worth £3 million located in St Andrews is on the market just in time for the start of the Open Championship, which returns to the world-famous course. Set in almost 1.5 acres of grounds, The White
House is a C-listed home built in 1904 in the English Arts and Crafts style. Boasting classic Edwardian features, the accommodation includes a study, drawing room, formal dining room, and ten bedrooms, six of which are in the main house and four are in an annexe.