Could a new factory on Barra boost the economy there?

The applicant has stated the new factory could employ up to 15 local people.

Developer Roddy MacInnes has founded a new company, Modular West Ltd, to build bespoke modular housing and house kits along with pods and garden rooms at the proposed factory site at Bentangaval, opposite the Barra opening to the Vatersay causeway.

In a statement, Mr MacInnes said that the business aims to employ 12-15 people and that he hopes it will provide a boost to the local economy and lead to ‘better house prices in the Western Isles’.

In the Design Statement submitted as part of the planning application, Mr MacInnes states that he is looking to build ‘a high quality state of the art manufacturing facility and compound capable of servicing new build projects not previously possible within Barra’, and adds: ‘Due to the increased productivity and efficiency associated with the factory built modular units and not having to transport timber kits from the mainland, we would envisage a much more competitive pricing structure for private, social and commercial projects’.

The factory development, if backed by planners, would be built in land at the Vatersay Causeway Quarry site with the factory being built to the north of road.