Diary of a Shopkeeper, 12th June
ASPIRE Orkney was set up during the dark days of the pandemic. Its role was to identify ways private business and the public sector could work together to protect Orkney from the worst threat to its economic well-being for decades. As Chair of Kirkwall BID I contributed to setting it up, and though I stepped back from involvement last summer I remain a supporter. Its current focus on housing is particularly valuable.
In recent weeks we’ve read letters in this newspaper from key workers pleading for help in finding accommodation. And in the news pages we’ve read how even the Director of the Island Games is having difficulty finding somewhere to live. Most of us know from family and friends how houses, whether for rental or purchase, are scarce – and expensive. ASPIRE point out that, ‘Over the last 12 months the average house price in Orkney has risen by £24,120 to a new high of £186,983. This increase is twice the Scottish average.’ Meanwhile, average earnings remain amongst the lowest in Scotland.
We haven’t been lagging behind when it comes to building. Between 2002 and 2020 a total of 2,477 houses were built. ‘Orkney has a total of around 11,400 dwellings, which means that around 22% of our total housing stock have been built since 2002,’ ASPIRE says. ‘That is the highest percentage increase of any local authority area in Scotland.’ However, the nett gain is less than that, as some old houses have been abandoned, and others turned into holiday homes for the owners’ use, or for short-term letting. But how many?
It seems there are about 500 owner-occupied holiday houses. The OIC says, ‘Many homes across Orkney are registered as second homes, this means that they are in use for more than 28 days each year but are not a primary residence for their owners, this is a legitimate use of these homes.’
The number of short-term let properties is hard to pin down, but a quick search of the best-known online provider reveals 260 properties being let by the night or week. The actual total will be higher, as not every holiday let uses that platform. As with second homes, this type of use is, as the council say, ‘legitimate,’ and brings income into the county. especially if the owners live here and spend what they earn locally.
Worryingly, the OIC’s own figures state that over 6% of homes in Orkney are long-term empty – about 700 – which is a shocking underuse given the ongoing housing crisis. There are many reasons why houses may be unoccupied: very poor condition, insufficient funds to afford renovation, legal disputes over ownership. But that’s little comfort to people desperately trying to find a home.
Our population is 3,000 higher than it was in 2001, at around 22,500. No wonder there’s a housing shortage, and that our roads seem more crowded than ever before, our services under greater strain.
Is this a plea for our population growth to be restricted? (Even if it could be, which it couldn’t.) No, it certainly is not. Depopulation is the greatest threat to rural areas. When numbers drop, schools close, businesses can’t survive, young folk leave due to lack of opportunity, and even local authorities struggle for income. Which makes the place less attractive and viable. It’s a vicious circle.
What we need is a new surge in housebuilding – like we had in 2011 and 2012, when over 200 houses were built per year. Since then, even excluding the difficult years 2020 and 2021, the average has been less than 100. For that to happen, there needs to be private and public cooperation, and a willingness to think radically about how to house a population which is ageing as well as increasing.
Meanwhile, good luck to the OIC’s Empty Homes Officer, and to ASPIRE Orkney. They need it – and so do we.
You can read more about ASPIRE Orkney here: https://www.aspireorkney.com/ Its manager, Luke Fraser, is open to all creative ideas for ‘building back better.’
You can read about the OIC’s Empty Homes policy, and contact the responsible officer, Rachael Batty, here: https://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/H/empty-homes.htm
This diary appeared in The Orcadian on 15th June 2022. A new one appears weekly. I post them in this blog a few days after each newspaper appearance, with added illustrations., and occasional small corrections or additions.