A solution emerges for housing Harris workers​

By Brian Wilson
Published 14th Dec 2023, 16:36 BST
An image of the kind of unit envisagedAn image of the kind of unit envisaged
An image of the kind of unit envisaged
​Harris Development Limited has secured funding from the Scottish Land Fund which will enable an innovative scheme to house key workers to go ahead.

The project, which has been developed in conjunction with the community-owned North Harris Estate, will create six modular accommodation units in the Tarbert area to alleviate a serious shortage of housing for key workers who are essential to growing the Harris economy.

The capital award for purchasing the sites is £79,790 and there will also be revenue funding of £68,000 to cover a two-year administrative post.

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It is intended that accommodation within the units will be leased out to businesses which require them for staff accommodation. The land has been gifted by North Harris Trust and the Land Fund grant will go towards crofter compensation, legal and other expenses.

A feasibility study undertaken for HDL by Threesixty Architecture carried out consultation with organisations within the Harris economy which highlighted that if accommodation was provided then they would employ significantly more staff.

By 2025, the projected increase for the responding businesses was between 42 and 77 new staff, but there is no housing supply to enable this. HDL is proposing a solution based on the purchase of three sites for modular units, offering “year-round accommodation for workers”.

The surplus generated by the project will assist HDL to move away from being grant dependent and to “carry out further projects to stabilise and enhance the socio-economic landscape”.