OT Housing crisis stymies ‘northern powerhouse’

House price rises in rural and coastal communities have soared above the Scottish average, with the trade body for Scotland’s fish farmers warning that a “housing crisis” is stopping the Highlands and islands from becoming a “northern powerhouse”.

Salmon Scotland says new data released by the Registers of Scotland shows that “while prices across Scotland rose by 89 per cent in 2022 compared to the 2004 baseline, the increase was as high as 168 per cent in some remote areas”.

The figures, it said, were above the national average in Argyll and Bute, the Highlands, and the Western Isles.

The trade body, which says its “sustains 12,500 local jobs and brings in nearly £800 million a year for the economy”, believes “a housing shortage is holding back real growth in these vulnerable communities”.

“Farming companies already provide accommodation for 130 employees and their families after buying or renting housing, but many workers cannot find homes where they work.”

At the Rural Housing Scotland conference in Dunkeld last week, Salmon Scotland chief executive Tavish Scott said businesses are struggling to recruit and retain workers, and called for £10 million of the money paid by salmon farmers in government rents to be ringfenced for direct investment in rural housing.

“At present, millions of pounds paid by salmon farming companies go to the Crown Estate Scotland. As well as house price rises, the situation is exacerbated by the number of empty homes and properties being snapped up by buy-to-let landlords.

“The impact of a lack of affordable housing cannot be underestimated – it means not being able to live near where you work, it separates families and contributes to the depopulation of our island communities.”

Houses prices on the Isles of Mull and Islay are the most expensive in Scotland and in the UK’s top five, according to a survey by the estate agent comparison site GetAgent.