Latest news with #Highlands
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Locals in picturesque seaside town fighting Airbnb crisis reveal heart-breaking loophole stopping them from buying homes
To many, it is an idyllic postcard destination with its Fairy Pools, rugged mountains and picturesque fishing villages. After all, its dramatic landscapes even feature as a filming location in the Game of Thrones. But for young people actually living on the Isle of Skye, it is more than just a beauty spot. It is their home. It is where they grew up, went to school, found work, and had hopes of buying their own homes. But heartbroken locals have told MailOnline how youngsters are increasingly being priced out of Skye as AirBnB landlords who have 'never stepped foot on the island' snap up all the homes. And a frustrating loophole in how mortgages are approved in Scotland means AirBnB businessmen - often from 'down South' - can easily outbid young couples and families who spend years saving up for a deposit. Speaking to MailOnline, one councillor suggested as much as 60 per cent of properties on the island lay empty during the winter months as they have all turned into second homes and short-term lets. Hospitality bosses, who often have to hire staff from off the island, have said the crisis is so bad that they've had to scale back their businesses due to a lack of long-term private rentals available. The island's booming AirBnB market comes as no surprise considering it is the second most visited destination in Scotland after Edinburgh, but locals say it is leaving them with no choice but to move onto the mainland. Ryan Scott, 17, tells of how he has little hopes of being able to buy a property on the island as AirBnB developers cause prices to shoot up The average house price at the tourist hotspot now stands at £260k, over £60k higher than the average house price for Scotland - which is £194k. Ryan Scott is a 17-year-old fisherman who had goals of buying a two-bed home on Skye in the coming years, but now admits it is highly unlikely. He told MailOnline: 'People that don't live on Skye buy houses and convert them into AirBnBs. 'I remember there was a nice three-bed house that went up for sale that went for £500k. '£500k for a house in Dunveggan, it's ridiculous. It was a joke. 'I want to buy a house, we were looking at two-beds and discussing it but it's just too hard right now. It's so difficult because of AirBnBs. 'They're just buying it all up and pushing prices up. 'I think its mainly people from down South, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London. A lot of the English. 'I guess if you live in the city and have a good job, it's so easy to buy up here. 'I don't blame them, if we were in the same position we probably would too. 'But it's obviously not nice for the people who live here.' Last year, data showed that house prices on Scottish islands had shot up by 30 per cent over five years from 2018 to 2023, with reports it was sparked by a rise in cash buyers in the market. In 2020, community leaders wrote an open letter warning of how rising property prices on Skye were preventing locals from buying a home, comparing the situation to an 'economic clearance'. The situation, locals say, has been exacerbated by a common trend on the island of AirBnB buyers from outside of Skye offering up to 50 per cent over the asking price of a home. Councillor John Finlayson said up to 60 per cent of homes lay empty during the winter period as they have all become second homes and holiday lets In one case, a family told of how they were outbid on a property that was advertised as on sale for £110,000 after the successful buyer offered £150,000 - £40,000, or 36 per cent, more than the house value. In Scotland means buyers are only able to get a loan based on the value of the home - which is determined in a 'home report' - and not the purchase price. This means that any amount above the home value has to be footed by the buyer themselves - something which is easily done by developers and landlords, locals say, but is pushing young people out. A couple could spend years saving up for a 10 per cent deposit to purchase a £100k home, but to compete with a buyer offering £40k above the asking price, they would need to cough-up an additional £40k cash upfront. A local on Skye, Ms Macluod, told of how the rise of AirBnBs is making it near impossible to buy and destroying the community. Her own daughter was priced off the island. She said: 'It's definitely a problem, there's no doubt about that. 'My daughter got married and wanted to buy here with her husband but she couldn't afford to. 'There are so many people buying up properties and using them as AirBnBs. 'I understand why but there's a shortage of homes so don't take up every home that's available. 'A woman told me an entire street where she lives is now completely AirBnBs bar two houses. 'You lose the sense of community you know, there are just people coming and going all the time.' Describing her daughter's situation she said: 'It's the cheaper, smaller homes that are bought up really quickly for AirBnBs. 'They are snapped up quick which is worse because those are the homes first time buyers are going for. 'At one point after Covid, houses were going for 20 per cent over asking. It was really extortionate. 'My daughter and her husband wanted to buy a house locally but they couldn't. 'They saw a house they liked and I think they put an offer down. The house was going for £110k, but they were outbid and it sold for £150k. 'That's almost 50 per cent above the asking price. 'It just means the asking price becomes meaningless. 'It's a mix of both local businessmen and folks across from us in England. 'They can buy so easily. The comparison is that for what you would get a shed for in London you would get a three-bed up here. 'I'm not sure exactly how common it is but I wouldn't be surprised as it is profitable. 'There are no cheaper homes on the market, all the two or three beds are snapped up.' Speaking to MailOnline, her daughter, who had to move 90 miles off the island to a village closer to Inverness, said: 'There's a housing crisis and also not a whole load of work aside from tourism. 'I had been working off the island and was wanting to move home after marrying my husband. 'A house was coming onto the market for £110k and we thought that was somewhat doable and we had enough for a deposit so we put an offer in. 'But we were outbid by £40k. 'That is crazy money. This was three of four years ago now. We ended up buying off the island but I keep an eye on the market as I'd like to move home long-term. 'It's hard because you're bidding against people with more disposable income. 'When it's over the asking price, we can't get that on the mortgage, you just have to pay that. 'I do have an issue with people who don't live on Skye buying AirBnBs because they're not contributing to Skye's economy. 'I don't think it's fair.' Scottish government analysis in 2019 revealed AirBnB listings on Skye account for 18.6 per cent (1,083) of all dwellings on the island - the highest rate of any Scottish ward. There were an estimated 5,813 homes on Skye at the time of this research. Comparatively, only 1.2 per cent of dwellings across Scotland were found to be AirBnBs. The percentage is thought to have risen further in the last few years. A search for on the AirBnB website for a week in June returns more than 1,000 available results. According to the Short Term Lets licensing public register, there are several thousands of licences approved for short-term lets, ranging from entire houses to pods and converted sheds. Skye councillor John Finlayson suggested a drive around the Scottish isle during the winter months would reveal more than half of homes lay empty with 'not a single light on'. He said: 'If you drive around Skye around Christmas time, in November and December, about 60 per cent of the houses will be unaccompanied. 'You can drive through some roads and there'll be hardly any lights on in the houses. 'Increasingly, we have people buying properties without even seeing them and turning them into AirBnBs. 'And then we have some people who aren't even from off the island, they live here, and they are buying up particularly ex-council houses that go up for sale. 'You have developers buying them and pushing ordinary people out of the market. 'The authority do charge 200 per cent council tax on second homes but that makes no difference to people using it as AirBnBs. There is a distinction between people using it as second homes and AirBnBs. 'There are also increasingly more pods, and people turning sheds into short-term lets too. 'The thing is AirBnBs do support the economy, but the issue is the number of people who buy who don't live here. They see it online and buy it without ever stepping foot on Skye.' He joked: 'Rich folk from London have no problem buying up here. 'You get a lot of people from down south but then it's not exclusively them, it's people all around the UK. 'Take a walk around and count the number of houses that have those lockboxes outside them. They're all holiday lets. 'You have people putting a chalise right in the garden and turning the shed into a bedroom. 'That's not what the housing community is about, is it? A lot of them are ex-council houses.' SNP councillor Drew Millar echoed his concerns, stating that there was a huge problem of AirBnB buyers offering tens of thousands above the asking price. He said: 'Houses coming up on sale are being snapped up at much more than what they're valued at and then converted into AirBnBs. 'We're short of housing here and normal people can't afford a mortgage anymore. 'The AirBnBs are pricing young people out of the market. 'It's heartbreaking. 'People are bidding £20-30k over the asking price, and they are usually for AirBnBs. 'A lot of these people have never stepped foot on the island. They can now look online and buy without ever stepping foot. 'There are parts of the Highlands deemed as a test area for controlling these things. And the feeling here in Skye is that we should have one of these. 'There are 200 social homes being built over the next few years, but that's just affordable rent. 'For those wanting to buy there's nothing. 'We need some sort of controls in place to control the number of short-term lets, which should make it more difficult for people to stroll in and purchase property. 'Across the whole of the Highlands young people are being priced out. 'My real issue is with people who don't live on Skye. They buy up property then employ people to manage it. Therefore, any profit is not going back into the community. 'And then housing is springing up in price. People are chasing, there is demand, and it so it hikes up the prices. 'It means we're also losing some of the community spirit. 'When neighbours see a house up for sale they worry it's going to become an AirBnB, with cars arriving all the time, people just coming and going. 'The current legislation is horrible. I resigned from the housing committee because we weren't rejecting any licences. 'The way the law is set up there is virtually no way to stop someone getting a licence for a short-term let. 'I was so frustrated that I decided I was not doing it anymore. We were basically rubber-stamping every application.' The picturesque island is a top tourist spot and during and post-Covid experienced a big rise in house prices Robert Macaskill, who runs Relish Cafe which sits in the ultra-touristy Wentworth Street in Portree, told of how he has had to scale back his business due to not being able to take on enough staff. He said that while he has many applications come in to relocate to the island, there are not enough private rentals on the island to find a place to live. He said: 'I'm looking to downsize but I can't. Any small homes that come onto the market are snapped up immediately. 'And even a two-bed semi here is so expensive, it's about £180-200k now. 'You get a lot of people from away, off the island, that buy up. 'And there is just a lack of housing. If I were to employ for a position, I get so many applications come through. 'But I know the situation. There are no private rentals, I saw on recently that was £900/m for a two-bed. 'It means that we've had to go from being open seven days a week to six days now. 'And on a day like today we've had to close the upstairs seating area. 'We've probably turned away around 200 people because of that today. We just don't have enough staff for it. 'I reckon about 50 per cent of homes on the island are probably AirBnB, it's probably a lot more than we think. 'I guess it does generate tourism and work so it a double-edged sword.' Meanwhile, Adrian Rudak, who moved to Skye 20 years ago and lives in affordable housing said: 'Even private rentals are difficult here because landlords prefer to rent short-term to tourists. 'The problem is the infrastructure is not growing in line with the tourism, there's not even houses and there's only one Co-op. 'I've lived on Skye for 20 years and I remember back when for six months a year it would be quiet and the other six it would be 'season'. 'Now it's season most of the time bar the three months in the winter. 'I don't even think about buying property here to be honest, I'm in social housing. 'There are loads, loads, loads of AirBnBs here. 'I do understand why they do it but there are no houses for young people even to rent.' Across from Portree, in Dunveggan, which is slightly less of a tourist hotspot, staff at a cafe told of the issues with hospitality due to the shortage in rentals. Sergio Pina, 49, spoke to MailOnline at The Blas Inn. He said: 'We've definitely seen an increase of English people buying houses and property here. 'They build it up, make it into an AirBnB, and then move back home. 'Elderly people tend to say. But people in their 30s or 40s, they don't stay. They sometimes come up for a few weeks, or just never show up at all. 'It is very very expensive up here, if it weren't for my partner I would have struggled to find housing here, 'The prices aren't that different to London, which is crazy. 'In the down season, most properties here lay empty. 'Most businesses in the hospitality sector here need to provide housing because it's so hard to get anything. 'We are only open for eight months a year and we accommodate some of the staff in caravans. There is just no housing.' Ewan Robinson, who is working at The Blas Inn as a summer job before returning to university in Ayr, is staying in a caravan. He said: 'In London you can sell your bedsit and buy a castle up here. So of course you can understand why people do it. 'People buy up here, come here for a couple of weeks, and then short-term let it. 'It happens a lot. 'The majority of people, particularly the elderly, are from southern England, not even posh or from affluent areas, just when you've equity it's a choice people make. 'You can probably sell a garage down there and get a house for that price here. 'But a lot of them actually move here which is different.' He added: 'I'm staying in a caravan on Croft Land. Without that I wouldn't have even been able to think about coming up here to work.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The ultra woke remote Highlands towns that want more migrants to move in... despite fighting a housing crisis
Debates over the influx of migrants and refugees appearing in Britain's towns and villages continue to rage across the country. Large hotels, often in provincial towns, are being rented out to provide temporary accommodation for people from countries such as Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan looking for a fresh start. While locals around the migrant hotels have complained about anti-social behaviour and overrun public services, with claims they were given next to no notice by MPs and the government. Others say that the housing crisis will only worsen with Brits missing out on a chance to live in the area they have grown up. But while some want to close the borders entirely, towns in the Scottish Highlands are more than happy for more refugees to flock to their streets. Remote towns and villages across the vast mountainous region - which is the largest local authority area in the UK - have taken in hundreds of refugee families and unaccompanied children from Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine since 2016. And the influence of migration is clear to see from the likes of popular Syrian food trucks popping up on picturesque riversides and Turkish barbers on quaint high streets. And while there has been some low level backlash, Highlanders generally seem to be 'more welcoming than down South' - as one local put it. The region receives over six million tourists every year, but has a population of only 235,000 people, much of it aging. Though the positive reception of refugees is thought to be partly owed to a depopulation crisis and a desperate need for a boost in young people, many towns are in fact battling a severe housing shortage. A visit by MailOnline to the rural towns and villages hosting refugee families found most locals were keen to take on more despite facing a squeeze on resources themselves. The small town of Dingwall, just a half hour northwest of Inverness, is made up of just 5,500 people. In 2018, it took in seven refugee families from Syria, and while some have since migrated, many still reside in the rural location. On a Friday afternoon, hardly a soul could be spotted on the empty high street. One woman at Christian charity shop, Blythswood Charity Superstore, told MailOnline of the work the store has done to employ refugees. Joanne O'Brian, 62, said: 'We've employed refugees here, there are two Syrian refugees volunteering at our shop now. 'One of them is studying for a Civil Engineering degree. 'And we've had quite a few volunteering before as well. 'I think Scotland, and the Highlands specifically, is just more welcoming than maybe further down South. 'And here we want refugees to develop the skills to grow and create a life here. 'You don't want people to just be an add-on, you want to enable them so they are a part of society and contribute to society. 'The Highlands has more of an old-fashioned culture in the sense that it is quite welcoming. 'And there are certain places in the Highlands that has an aging population. So its nice when you have others come here, you embrace each other's cultures. 'The main problem here though is the lack of housing. 'The council needs to invest in more social housing. Flats are so hard to come by. 'I believe there is a housing project nearby but you have to remember council wheels do turn slowly.' Highlands Council's Housing and Property Committee recently discussed plans to seek 'council of sanctuary' status, an award which would have been the local authority recognised for going 'above and beyond' to welcome refugees. However, the plan - which would have cost the council £2,100 over three years - was halted in its tracks after councillors raised concerns it amounted to 'virtue signalling'. While the proposal did not pass, all councillors commended the work done to integrate refugees into Highlands society, and agreed the work should continue. Ms O'Brian added on the decision not to apply for sanctuary status: 'I don't think you need recognition to help out. 'The status is not necessary. We don't need a pat on the back. 'It's happening all the time and it's about being mindful to know if people need a hand and to help, whether they're British or Syrian or from any other background. 'We don't a status to show it. 'You just hope that the work you do filters through to others, cascades through and inspires young people to do the same.' Councillor Duncan McDonald, a former army major, instead proposed that the council continue to support refugees without the need to 'virtue-signal' or risk making locals feel 'alienated' and like they are pushed 'further down the pecking order'. He said: 'I would propose that we continue to support the refugees in the manner that we have done for years – quietly, meaningfully and respectfully.' The Highlands is so sparsely populated there are thought to be around nine people per sqm, similar to the population density of countries like Russia. Despite this, there is still a significant shortage of affordable homes, with many having to wait on registers for social housing. The council said last year that the area will be in need of an extra 24,000 houses over the next ten years to keep up with current and future demand. In Dingwall, 20 new homes were announced in November last year as being ready to welcome tenants as a social housing development came to completion. Around the corner from the Blythswood charity shop on Dingwall's High Street is a community cafe which is open to all and allows people to pay as they wish. Here, two woman running Sheila's Community Cafe, told of attitudes towards refugees in the town. Shona Street and Shona Maclaren said: 'We have many people come here who have come with either refugee status or just decided to migrate here. 'We try to welcome people, get to know people. If someone is struggling, we will never bill them. 'The Highlands has always been a welcoming place and people aren't awfully judgmental. And even if they don't agree with something, they wouldn't shun people for it. 'There's a refugee family that live close to me, and what I've seen is very positive. Everybody says hi to them and speaks to them, and I've not seen any kind of negativity. 'You do hear negativity out and about sometimes, if people read something somewhere. But we challenge people here. 'It's usually to do with council houses and benefits, but we challenge and discuss it. 'I guess you could say population has something to do with it. But then that's historical. All the young folk leave because there's nothing here.' The pair told of how the community had welcomed refugees: 'We always have a vegetarian option here, so if there's a religious reason or something that someone can't have meat, there's an alternative. 'We've got various groups that use our event space here, and we have a crafts group that come in on a Thursday. 'Some refugee women started coming and enjoyed it, so they restricted the group to women's only so that it was a safe space for them. 't's a bit disappointing that they didn't go ahead with applying for the sanctuary status. 'It says something doesn't it to have the status? 'It makes a statement about the Highlands.' About 10 miles northeast of Dingwall, just a quick drive up along the Cromarty Firth, is Alness, a town of less than 6,000 people. It is known to have a high level of deprivation, with locals saying there is a pressing social housing challenge. Between 2016 and 2020, they took in six refugee families from Syria. Peter Phelps, 66, and Thomas Grant, 70, who live in the area, said: 'We have no objections to refugees being housed here, everyone is quite welcoming of them. 'It must be strange for them you know, to come here and it be very different to where they are from. 'We've never heard anyone complain around here about them.' The one concern, however, that they and many other locals raised was the lack of housing for those 'born and bred' in the towns. They said: 'The only thing is we've not got the property for it. 'We need more homes. 'So many locals are looking for houses and can't get them. 'I think that's the only problem, people come in from other countries and they get houses straight away but locals can't get them. 'It's not about colour or anything like that. 'They just need to build more houses to house more people.' The Highlands is part of the UK's Afghan Resettlement programme which aims to take in Afghans who worked with or for the UK government and as such put their lives at risk. Historic army base Cameron Barracks was used to relocate these Afghan families beginning in 2021. Many Syrian and Afghan refugees have since enrolled on college courses, found jobs and taken up English-language classes after resettling in the Highlands. Many from Dingwall and Alness also travel to the 'capital' Inverness for work and college. Speaking to MailOnline at a newly-opened Afghan food truck along the River Ness in Inverness, an Afghan refugee who did not wish to be named said: 'We've been here for about four years now. 'Everyone has been very friendly, the people have been good here, I like it. 'I was 18 when we moved here. My husband was working but I was finishing school. 'When we moved here my son was only 10 months old. He is in nursery now. 'The council and people are nice here and gave good support, like English classes, college, like making hobbies for us, especially for women. 'They offered a lot of support to the refugees, especially the women. 'We opened this [food truck] three days ago. My husband sometimes work here but he is at college. He is studying mechanics.' Meanwhile, Ibrahim Al Hasan, who was part of the first five Syrian refugee families to arrive in the Highlands, spoke to MailOnline about his experience. The father-of-four said: 'I moved here from Syria in 2016. I have four kids, when we came here the youngest was little age, just seven months. 'First when I came here all I thought was it is a safe place. 'Then I looked for a job. For about two or three years I struggled because I don't speak English then. 'I worked at a charity shop for about five years before starting taxi. I've done this for three years. 'Now I have been here about nine years. Here is okay, I am happy for the safety and for my kids. 'And for the work I have I am so happy.' Speaking of how and his family adjusted when they arrived, he said: 'I had no idea how I would come and actually struggle for language, for culture, for food, everything. Especially since I was part of the first group to come here. 'After me, after one year other Syrian people came here and it was bit easier for them. 'But when I came I didn't know anything. 'The council supported us and the local mosque. If we needed anything, they always help, not just me, for everyone. 'It was hard to find like halal food and things. The council woman would drive us and help us. 'The locals are friendly, not too much contact, but they say hi. 'I like it here more than to go to London or Glasgow. Here I don't need to worry. 'With big cities, there's more problems. My friend in Glasgow, he's struggling with the kids. 'Here you have more option, the kids can go outside to play. In Dingwall, my kids are always out. Every morning and evening friends are knocking on the door. 'My kids speak English very well now. My daughter is in Primary 4, they say she speaks very well, her writing is perfect, for spelling and everything.' A trustee at the local mosque in Inverness, where many refugees from Syria and Afghanistan attend for prayers, told of how 'credit goes to Highland Council' for supporting refugees. He said: 'If you try and bring refugees into a very crowded city, the problems that affect that city sometimes harms them. 'It was organised better here. 'There was less pressure, less public outcry, and they did it so the local community were involved and almost like mentors or buddies to the refugees. 'The housing is a problem everywhere, there's no exception here. 'But Highland Council did a lot to support the refugees, integrating children and families into the community is a difficult thing to do.' 19-year-old Khalid Khan told MailOnline of how he fled Afghanistan 'by foot' when he was 15 and was settled in Inverness. He said: 'I didn't fly here. I walked from Kabul, through Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, France. I was in France for about one year then I came to London. 'In London there was a big camp, I was there two months then they changed me to another camp, then to here. 'Inverness is beautiful. I love the weather. I can't believe the weather here. Sometimes really cold, sometimes really nice.' Khalid, whose family are still in Afghanistan told of how he has felt welcomed into Highlands society: 'I like it here. The people are really nice, I love them. 'The people are kind, they speak to you. It's really nice. 'I have a social worker that takes care of me. There are a lot of people from different countries and everyone is supported. 'Here, the locals are always coming to see me, asking "are you okay, do you need anything?" 'I applied for college last year, they didn't accept me, so I applied for this year and they've accepted me. I'm going to study Computer Science. 'They really helped me with English when I came here. 'My family are all in Afghanistan, I have two younger brothers. 'I do miss them. I miss Afghanistan. I love my country but now it is under the control of the Taliban. Now I don't know what has happened to my country.' Meanwhile, though the majority of those MailOnline spoke with were positive about the Highlands as a safe haven for refugees, some felt it had gone too far. Diane Jeffrey, 66, who works at Alan's Taxis on Alness High Street, said: 'This is why you get people asking well what about the locals struggling for housing? 'Over the last few years you've had people coming in, they set up businesses here, and it's just taken over. 'I just think you've got to look after your own before you let others into the country. 'The council is giving them money, everything, even driving courses. But locals don't have that. 'To then get the status as well is not needed.' Her thoughts were echoed by Donnie Beaton, who also resides in Alness. He said: 'I've never seen so much misuse of money. Put it in the people who are from the local area. 'I'm not racist in any manner and I don't disagree with people coming here if they are putting back into society. 'But they're not. They don't care about the local people. 'And we've got no say in it. 'And there's no housing for being born here. People are waiting so long for housing but they are given it straightaway.' Councillor Glynis Campbell Sinclair, who is Provost of Inverness, told MailOnline about how she was proud of the work the council staff had done to integrate refugees into Highlands society. She told argued she believed the motion to apply for 'sanctuary status' would have been a way to 'acknowledge' the work that had been done. The Housing and Property Committee chair said: 'The team have been working with refugees for over a decade. 'I am really proud of the work they have done. Not a lot of people know of the amount of work the Highlands have done for refugees. 'And sometimes it's really nice to acknowledge in a formal way your appreciation for the work that they are doing, and applying for the City of Sanctuary award for me was an apt thing to do. 'I was disappointed that several members of the committee felt that they couldn't do that. 'I'm disappointed for the staff because I think that any kind of award is an acknowledgement for the work they do. 'It's perception as well. Applying for the sanctuary award sends out a message, it's basically saying to the UK and beyond, this is the sort of place the Highlands is, this is how we support vulnerable people who fled conflict. 'It should have gone through with a nod.' The proposal was beaten by nine votes to seven in a committee meeting last Wednesday. In the committee meeting, Cllr Mr McDonald, said of his experience with army-employed Afghan civilians: 'I went to the front gate in Kabul with my team with full body armour on to bring these people into the camp — I know how scared they were. 'So I understand wholeheartedly what these people go through, what they went through, and what they are suffering now. 'I would propose that we continue to support the refugees in the manner that we have done for years — quietly, meaningfully and respectfully. 'Can we achieve the same result by working alongside the scheme without signing up? 'We do not need to virtue-signal our support. 'We certainly do not want our citizens to perceive that they are being alienated and pushed further down the pecking order.' Late last year, the Scottish Human Rights Commission warned that the Highlands had a serious shortage of affordable housing in rural areas. There was said to be a significant number of people who are homeless, and the lack of affordable housing, including social housing, was said to be a factor in young people not moving back to the Highlands after leaving for further education. Cllr Sinclair told MailOnline of how despite there being low population density across the Highlands, a lack of housing and infrastructure for jobs and education was a key challenge in keeping young people in the area. She said: 'The problem we've had for generations is that young people go to school, but then 17, 18, they probably travel far afield to Glasgow, Edinburgh, the big cities, for further education. That's been happening for generations. 'But there's a new university in Inverness so a lot more younger people are staying at home and doing their degrees here. 'The problem we do have here in the Highlands is that there is a housing challenge, every year the Highlands have got a long waiting list because we just don't have enough houses. 'And that is contributing to the depopulation challenge.' Speaking of the council's work to house refugees, she added: 'The Highland Council has a strong track record in supporting refugees and displaced persons fleeing war in their own countries. 'The people who are now living across Highland are individuals and families supported because of national programmes which have determined they have a legal right to reside, work and claim statutory entitlements. 'The people of Highland have shown enormous empathy and compassion which has been of great comfort to the people beginning new lives here.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Calls for campervan tax in the Scottish Highlands amid claims roads ‘can't cope' with traffic
Calls have been made for a campervan tax in the Scottish Highlands amid claims that roads 'cannot cope' with increased tourist traffic. A Scottish Labour candidate for Inverness and Nairn for next year's Holyrood election has floated the idea of a tourist tax that specifically targets campervans being driven in the area. The candidate, Shaun Fraser, said that roads can no longer handle the surge of traffic in the Highlands, much of which is on the popular driving route, the North Coast 500 (NC500). Tourists flock to the 516-mile 'superloop' each year to drive among some of Scotland 's most magnificent scenery as it weaves past glens, mountains, castles and coastline. The NC500 follows the main roads along the coastal edges of the North Highlands of Scotland, through Wester Ross, Sutherland, Caithness, Easter Ross, the Black Isle and Inverness-shire. Motorhome tourism has become popular along this route, with campervans making it easy to stop in off-grid locations with the essentials they need when shops or accommodation become scarce. The Highland Council estimated that nearly 36,000 campervans toured the historic and mountainous region in 2022 alone. However, with the surge in visitors has come an uptick in complaints from local residents over damaged verges, blocked passing spaces and overfilled bins, The Herald reported. Mr Fraser told the newspaper he wants to see a campervan tax introduced that would form part of a 'fair and well-designed' visitor levy to help maintain roads and boost public services. The Labour candidate continued: 'Tourism is a key aspect of the Highland economy, and it is important that we are sensitive the the introduction of such a scheme, but there has been a 65 per cent increase in tourist numbers since 2012 and local infrastructure has not kept up with these demands.' 'Initiatives such as the North Coast 500 have transformed the dynamics of Highland tourism, with a huge rise in campervans using rural single-track Highland roads. Our roads cannot cope with this. It is a mixed blessing.' 'I would be open to looking at options attached to campervans, including number plate recognition to charge visiting campervans using Highland roads.' Proposals for tourist taxes are not unheard of in the Highlands, as the Highland Council have already started a consultation process of introducing a visitor levy in the region. The Highlands are joined by Scotland's two major cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, in working their way through consultations to introduce a visitor levy. The Visitor Levy Act became law in September 2024, which allows councils in Scotland to tax overnight accommodation if they wish to do so. While Glasgow is still making its way through the consultation stage, Edinburgh voted in January to add a five per cent surcharge on visitors' overnight stays by 2026. The Highland Council's visitor levy proposal would also see a charge that would apply to overnight accommodation to improve infrastructure, such as roads and public toilets, that incur wear and tear due to tourism. With more than six million people visiting the picturesque Highlands annually, the Highland Council calculated the tax could bring in between £5m and £10m a year.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Labour and SNP call for Scottish Highlands campervan tax saying roads cannot cope with soaring number of tourists from across the world
Figures from Labour and the SNP are calling for a Scottish Highlands tax on campervans in a bid to raise cash and help maintain the area, as it is warned the country's roads cannot cope with an influx of tourists. The number of visitors to the Highlands has risen by 65 percent since 2012, and many of those visiting bring campervans as they tour the region. Some 36,000 campervans visited the Highlands in 2022, according to the local council, with many encouraged by the development of the North Coast 500, a scenic 500-mile route dubbed 'Scotland's Route 66'. A recent study by Glasgow Caledonian University found the 2015 project has boosted the local economy by £22 million a year, creating about 200 full-time jobs. But tensions have been rising in the Highlands as the area increases in popularity, with complaints from locals that campervan drivers clog up the roads and leave rubbish behind. Labour's Shaun Fraser, who will be standing as their candidate for Inverness and Nairn in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, told the Telegraph: 'Initiatives such as the North Coast 500 have transformed the dynamics of Highland tourism, with a huge rise in campervans using rural single–track highland roads. Our roads cannot cope with this. It is a mixed blessing. The council already introduced a voluntary scheme for campervan drivers, who can now pay £40 for a week's pass which would give drivers access to local car parks and daily shower facilities 'Highland communities and local services must benefit from tourism. I support a fair and well-designed visitor levy and sensible measures to manage the impact of campervans. 'I would be open to looking at options attached to campervans, including number plate recognition to charge visiting campervans using highland roads. I think that this should be considered.' Current MSP for the SNP, Emma Roddick, separately called for campervan users to be included in a wider tourist tax being considered by the council. Highlands Council is currently deliberating whether to implement a five percent levy on overnight accommodation. It is said this could raise £10 million per year - and this figure could rise if campervans are included. The council already introduced a voluntary scheme for campervan drivers, who can now pay £40 for a week's pass which would give drivers access to local car parks and daily shower facilities. It is hoped the scheme will eventually raise £500,000. Frustrated locals previously called for an overnight parking ban due to the quantity of touring campervans in the region. Problems cited at the time included rubbish left behind, with the council's £40 scheme not providing waste disposal.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
STEPHEN DAISLEY: Ross sauntered out, sulkier than a teenager sent to his bedroom
Russell Findlay has a way of putting questions. It's the incredulous tone, the dagger-sharp diction, the arctic stare, the shoulders that recoil like a feline catching its reflection. No matter the topic, no matter how outwardly reasonable the government's position, Findlay treats it like a monstrous crime. He could be querying climate mitigation policy and still he sounds like a desk sergeant reading a list of charges to a toerag who'd just been caught after his 17 mugging in as many days. In fact, climate mitigation policy was the very topic under discussion yesterday, and Findlay was in the highest of dudgeon. The Climate Change Committee had put out a report recommending steps to be taken so Scotland can meet Net Zero. It's the kind of report almost written for Findlay to steam about at FMQs, containing as it did proposals to turn Scotland into a high-tax, high-price, electric-motored, heat-pumped, semi-vegan dystopia. Imagine Planet of the Apes only at the end Charlton Heston finds a giant statue of Lorna Slater. Findlay fumed that, under the report's recommendations, 'the number of cattle and sheep in Scotland would need to fall by two million' in the next ten years. Culling two million sheep. There goes the SNP 's core vote. This was the point where Swinney should have said: Are you mad, man? I'm the MSP for Perthshire North. I'm hardly about to put thousands of farmers on the dole. Alas, he couldn't say that because, having signed up to the Net Zero religion, open deviation would make him a heretic. The doctrine would have to be finessed without any admission that the dogma was wrong. Or, as the First Minister put it: 'The government will consider specific proposals and bring them forward, and the parliament will have the opportunity to decide whether those proposals should be approved or not.' Ah, of course. When there's credit to be taken for climate targets, it belongs to the government. When there's a problem, it's parliament's mess to clear up. Next Findlay railed against the report's call for heat pump installations to be ramped up. He said 70 per cent of homes would need one to meet the Nationalists' eco goals, and only one per cent of houses boasted one today. And they don't come cheap: somewhere between £8,000 and £15,000. SNP ministers could cover that with their recent £20,000 bonus, but what about ordinary punters? Swinney blamed Brexit. I'm still not sure how, but he slipped it in there, as if it was a perfectly logical response, as if he didn't blame it in every answer to every question. One MSP not terribly impressed by this answer was Douglas Ross who began heckling from the cheap seats up the back of the Tory benches. Swinney began to stumble over his words, when Alison Johnstone's patience snapped like an overstretched bungee rope. The Presiding Officer gave Ross a right telling off, scolding him for having 'persistently refused to abide by our standing orders', then ordered him out of the chamber and told him not to come back for the rest of the day. He didn't move a muscle. Throats cleared awkwardly across the room. 'Mr Ross, I have asked you to leave the chamber,' Johnstone said. Still no movement. For a fleeting second or two, it looked as though things might get hairy, but after a pronounced pause, the former Tory leader picked up his parliament pass and sauntered out, sulkier than a teenager sent to his room. Johnstone seemed to think booting him out of FMQs was a sanction. If she really wanted to punish him, she should have made him sit through all 45 soul-sapping minutes. Ross was deprived of watching Nat backbencher Clare Adamson's halting attempt at reading out a question so planted it should have come with its own watering instructions. That's what they consider orderly at Holyrood, but speaking your mind, they chuck you out for that.
