Firm ensures the island idyll is built to endure on Muck
THE Isle of Muck may not quite be paradise for everyone, but on a day when the sun is shining and the Atlantic winds are still, it certainly seems idyllic. Neil Gillies, an incomer from Mallaig who arrived in 2015, certainly thinks so.
As the Site Manager for the Mowi salmon farm on the tiny island – with 17 people on the payroll, it is the biggest local employer Neil is lucky. He is able to live on Muck full time because the company has provided him and his family with a modern three bedroomed house on the island.
It is one of three homes Mowi has built on the island.
The other managers are not permanently resident but use the other two properties on a rotating basis. In effect, the houses are community facilities, as they provide much needed housing not just for the business, but for the island too.
“I can now live here with my wife and three kids”, he explains.
“We have a massive modern open plan house originally built in 2015 with a big garden. It’s a lovely wooden-clad property with a log burner, though it’s so well insulated that you have to be careful with the heating – it can get really hot. It’s just great.”
Muck’s population is now 42. That may not sound a lot, but it is a substantial rise on the figure of 27 recorded in the 2011 census. Much of this is accounted for by Mowi’s decision to invest in a fish farm on the island in 2014. Neil arrived on the island soon after Mowi began operations, moving into the new house, which cost about £250,000 to build, in 2019 when it became available to him.
The house is a genuine community asset: Mowi pays for its upkeep and if its 25-year contract to operate the fish farm on the island is not renewed, it will be handed over to the island population.
Neil believes that the lack of suitable housing on islands like Muck acts as a constraint on growing local populations. “I think that more people would come to these areas if more accommodation was available.
At the moment, every house is taken – no family could come to live here unless another moved away.
He concedes that anyone moving in has to be able to make a living and the available employment on Muck is currently in balance with the size of the population.
However, the island now has 50 MB fibre broadband, meaning it could attract digital homeworkers if suitable housing were available.
“The island is in a good position at the moment and things are pretty stable, but I think that – within reason – if you were to get more people coming in, that would be a great thing.
“We are fortunate in that there’s a real community spirit, but a few more incomers
would be nice. If they were able to come, it would be a fabulous lifestyle for them.”
Neil sees fish farm operators as having a positive presence in rural areas. Their efforts to provide benefits such as accommodation in local communities are, he believes, paying dividends.
The presence of these operations also has a multiplier effect on the economy:
Mowi also provides work for a cleaner and two boatmen as well as business for the island’s tea shop.
“We buy bacon rolls and so on and the owner does dinners for us during the summer months.
“My children are also at the island school and so that’s being supported. The sense of community here really is amazing and I’m lucky to be part of it. I never thought I’d end up here in a million years. It’s a great experience and lifestyle – I don’t think that I would ever want to move.”