Edinburgh and Aberdeen get more affordable rural homes built than Highland
A Highland MSP has revealed that the Highlands and Islands (including Moray) are lagging behind the remainder of Scotland in rural affordable house building.
Labour MSP Rhoda Grant is calling on the Scottish Government to urgently re-evaluate its classification system for rural housing areas, as she says the current system is not working for rural areas nor helping address rural depopulation.
Mrs Grant said: “The lack of affordable housing is the single greatest issue in the Highlands and Islands. Our health service cannot recruit because of it.
“Depopulation increases every year because of it. Our economic development depends on good quality, affordable housing.”
The Scottish Government claims that they have built more than 10,000 rural affordable homes since 2016 however, Freedom of Information obtained by Mrs Grant questions the validity of that fact.
According to the FOI information (from 2017) obtained by the MSP, some of these rural houses have been built by the Edinburgh bypass, Aberdeen City bypass and in commuter towns outside Edinburgh and Glasgow.
She said: “This FOI highlights that urban areas are benefiting from funding for rural affordable housing. This puts rural areas at a further disadvantage.
“The Scottish Government need to examine how this has been allowed to happen and re-define their classification system for rural housing.”
Since 2017, the Scottish Government has built 3,219 rural affordable homes in the Highlands and Islands (including Moray). However, nationally, they have built 8,989 in that time. Less than 50 per cent of that national figure has been built in the Highlands, Islands and Moray.
She added: “The Highlands and Islands have been suffering a housing crisis for years and many people – including young people – are being forced to leave the region because they cannot find an affordable home.
“Additionally, many businesses and health services are suffering in rural areas because staff cannot find suitable affordable housing.”
