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Election 2021: Conservative candidate for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Jamie Halcro Johnston tell us what he would do about housing and depopulation in part three of our series taking us all the way up to the election


By Scott Maclennan

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Scottish Conservative candidate Jamie Halcro-Johnston.
Scottish Conservative candidate Jamie Halcro-Johnston.

As Scotland prepares to go to the polls, we have been asking the candidates some of the key questions facing the Highlands starting with the issue of housing and depopulation. Having already heard from Labour's John Erskine and the SNP’s Kate Forbes, the Scottish Conservative candidate Jamie Halcro Johnston has his say on housing shortages and depopulation.

Amid a background of higher demand and lower availability many young Highlanders struggle to get their feet on the property ladder and are forced to look elsewhere in Scotland to make a home.

We asked Mr Halcro Johnston how he would tackle the twin issues of depopulation and housing shortages.

He said: “Depopulation has long been a problem in the Highlands and Islands. For a long time, many – particularly young people – have felt drawn to leave to pursue opportunities, to build their skills or to go to university or college.

“We should all be determined to make our region an attractive place to live, work, study, do business and create jobs. However these efforts will be hampered if finding a decent home is unachievable.

“There are plenty of things that can be done. Scottish Conservatives want to see real investment in schemes like the rural and island housing fund, piloting housing cooperatives and bringing unoccupied properties back into use rather than lying empty.

“But in places where it can happen, we need to also look at building new homes and making self-building and smaller developments more practical. House building levels have fallen and never recovered to the levels seen before this SNP government took office in 2007 – so it is hardly a surprise that costs have risen.

“Attracting more jobs and investment will require infrastructure – better transport, proper broadband – and so will homes. We should also be considering what we build: homes that can complement the beautiful surroundings of this part of the world rather than detract from them, places where people want to raise a family, homes that are well serviced rather than putting pressure on existing infrastructure.

“For some places this isn’t an option. So while I am pleased that the previous short-term lets regulations – that was badly targeted and would’ve hit businesses like traditional B&Bs – have been dropped for now, it is a policy that should be explored for specific areas.

“For too long, housing has been a neglected, but vital, part of building a strong local economy. For the Scottish Conservatives, it will be one of our main priorities.”

Click here to read yesterday's contribution by the SNP and click here to check out the first part by Labour.


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