(results compiled by The Highlands Small
Communities Housing Trust, July 2005)
Questionnaires were sent to every resident household in Sleat (340) and 20 questionnaires were also left at Sabhal Mor Ostaig (for students typically wishing to remain in Sleat after their studies are completed)
of 340 distributed 112 were returned (31% return rate)
of which 42 each expressed one or more housing needs, indicating an overall potential
need for up to 43 new houses/house plots (one household with a specific
need for 2 new houses)
The number of responses to each question was as follows:
Qu.1 Your Housing Needs and Requirements:
Housing
Need |
No.
of responses |
|
There are no housing needs in this household
|
66 |
|
I am likely to become homeless in the future |
3 |
|
Overcrowding: We need a larger house |
6 |
|
There are young adults in house needing independent housing |
13 |
|
We need a house suitable for someone with restricted mobility |
2 |
|
Living in a tied house |
2 |
|
Living in short term accommodation |
10 |
|
Living in a caravan or chalet |
1 |
|
House needs major repairs or adaptation (4 with possible requirement for a new house) |
7 |
|
Hoping or looking to buy a suitable house |
11 |
|
Any other reason |
6 |
your needs?
|
Kind of housing |
Very interested |
Interested |
Total (Interested & Very
interested) |
Not interested |
|
Housing Association Rented Housing |
8 (+1 with no needs) |
15 (+1 with no needs) |
23 (+2 with no needs) |
9 |
|
Shared Ownership Housing |
7 |
12 (+1 with no needs) |
19 (+1 with no needs) |
11 |
|
GRO Grant Housing |
9 (+1 with no needs) |
13 (+2 with no needs) |
22 (+3 with no needs) |
6 |
|
Rural Home Ownership Grant Housing |
18 (+3 with no needs) |
13 (+2 with no needs) |
31 (+5 with no needs) |
2 |
|
Subsidised Land Plots for Self Build |
20 (+3 with no needs) |
9 (+2 with no needs) |
29 (+5 with no needs) |
5 |
shared ownership and/or GRO grant
housing is given in brackets)
| Number of bedrooms required? > |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5+ |
|
|
2 (2) |
17 (14) |
17 (12) |
3 (2) |
- |
||
|
Single storey housing required? |
Yes - 10 (10) |
No - 19 (16) |
||||
|
Are you looking for a smaller house? |
Yes - 2 (2) |
No - 23 (22) |
||||
|
Are you looking for a larger house? |
Yes - 11 (8) |
No - 16 (16) |
||||
|
Would you be interested in a purpose built flat? |
Yes - 10 (10) |
No - 20 (16) |
||||
|
Other requirements? 4 respondents with an interest in rented housing with following requirements:
2 requiring house specifically designed for disabled user 1 with preference for ground floor flat 1 requiring reasonable sized garden with room for a shed
|
||||||
Qu.4 Where do you live at present and where would you like to live
if the appropriate
housing opportunity
was available? (first and second
preferences)
Location |
Living at present
(total number with those with needs in brackets) |
First preference
(those with needs only) |
Second preference
(those with needs only) |
|
Aird |
7 (5 with
needs) |
0 |
0 |
|
Calligary / Ardvasar |
7 (3 with
needs) |
3 |
9 |
|
Armadale |
4 (4 with
needs) |
6 |
1 |
|
Kilbeg / Kilmore |
2 (1 with
needs) |
1 |
5 |
|
Ferrindonald / Sasaig |
6 (3 with
needs) |
5 |
5 |
|
Teangue |
7 (3 with
needs) |
2 |
4 |
|
Camuscross |
11 (6 with needs) |
7 |
3 |
|
Isle Ornsay |
3 (1 with
needs) |
3 |
9 |
|
Duisdale Mor / Beag |
2 (1 with
needs) |
2 |
0 |
|
Drumfearn / Kinloch |
1 (1 with
needs) |
1 |
1 |
|
Achnacloich / Tarscavaig |
8 (1 with
needs) |
2 |
0 |
|
Tokavaig / Ord |
4 (1 with
needs) |
1 |
1 |
|
Outside Sleat |
1 |
|
|
| If
the person(s) in housing need you have identified were able to move
to their preferred housing option, would they be vacating a house
(rented or otherwise) in the Sleat area |
Yes
23 |
No
16 |
HSCHT comment: The question doesn't make it entirely clear
whether the house to be vacated would become available for someone else
or not, eg a 'young adult' would be vacating a house but the parent(s)
would continue living in the house
Qu.6 In your view, which groups of people should new affordable housing
in the Sleat CC area
be aimed at helping?
Which
Groups |
In each
case the first figure is the total number of responses received (the figure in brackets is the number of responses from those questionnaires with housing needs) |
||
| Yes |
No |
Don't
know |
|
|
Young couples |
75 (34) |
1 (1) |
3 (1) |
|
Families with children |
81 (38) |
0 (0) |
2 (0) |
|
Young single people |
55 (28) |
9 (4) |
8 (2) |
|
Older person households (singles or couples) |
45 (20) |
7 (6) |
13 (6) |
|
People with particular care needs (eg restricted mobility) |
51 (26) |
6 (4) |
9 (2) |
|
Incoming 'key workers' (eg care workers, college staff) |
45 (14) |
10 (8) |
17 (10) |
|
Incoming retired people |
4 (0) |
51 (26) |
8 (2) |
|
Incoming people with a job |
38 (14) |
24 (15) |
10 (2) |
If
there was a choice would you prefer to live in |
Yes |
|
A housing scheme? |
3 (all with housing needs) |
|
Dispersed units within the townships? |
60 (35 with housing needs) |
43 questionnaires (20 from households with specific needs) included comments, none of which were opposed in principle to additional affordable housing opportunities in Sleat. All the comments are included in Appendix 1
The comments fell into 3 very broad categories:
1) Who should
new housing be for? 2) Relating
to any new housing 3)
Miscellaneous comments
1)
Who for? (21 comments)
15 preference should be given to 'local' people particularly young singles & couples
4 consideration should be given to needs of elderly
1 housing necessary for incoming (key) workers
1 new housing should be for those most in need, whether local or not
2) New
housing (15 comments)
9 with concerns about size and siting of new housing developments (eg 'schemes')
1 advantages in 'grouped' housing
1 consider converting empty/derelict buildings for housing
1 housing in 'estates' better than no housing at all
1 sustainable/energy efficient housing required (ie low running costs)
1 new housing must be linked to good public transport network
1 no subsidised housing to buy (unless future local affordability safeguarded) and no
'Right to Buy' on new housing association houses
3) Miscellaneous
(4 comments)
1 radical solutions required for new housing in Sleat (but not specifying)
1 planning restrictions should be relaxed eg more than 2 houses per croft should be
permitted (where un-opposed by neighbours)
1 the lack of affordable housing is inhibiting regeneration in Sleat
1 more housing grant/loan information and advice is required at a local level
a) Comments (20) from those
with housing needs
Young
local people/couples should be a priority for housing
'Affordable'
now covers a wide scale as few living in Sleat could afford present prices.
Information (eg on self build) and a speeding up of processes (eg
Planning and decrofting) are as important as finance.
Delighted that the Trust is trying to address housing issues.
Please
hurry up. I've only got a year
left before I'm forced to move away
I
have filled this in on behalf of my lodger who is needing a home as I'm
considering moving and she will be without anywhere to live
If
no suitable housing available then you are not encouraging young people
to stay/return to Sleat
Large
housing schemes are no solution for the Sleat community
Please
do not build estates and then bring in people from outwith the area to
fill them. Flats/houses for single people are required
Help
for over 60's with gardening, hedges, plus more continuity in maintenance/re-modernisation
Work
is a vital thing. Giving houses to those not contributing to the local
economy is pointless - helps no one.
(re
qu.7 - housing schemes) Don't like them- they shouldn't be built and if
they are, they should be better built, less standardised, so they look
better. 'Housing Estates' smack of low income unemployed/unemployable
folk - horrible. Odd houses here and there , fine, but hate 'estates'
and so do most folk who live there. Don't get me wrong, I am myself very grateful for the house I'm
in giving me the opportunity to be here, but as a stepping stone.
Preference
should be given to local young adults seeking a first home
The
above questions were answered in relation to a young person in this household
Fundamental
problem - it is virtually impossible to buy or build on many local incomes,
especially in a single income household
Thorniest
and most complex issue affecting locality to date. Impossible to please everyone, but affordable plots and specific
grant/loan aid advice would help many
We
need a radical solution to stop rich homebuyers pushing out the local
community
Planning
regulations should be examined regarding the number of houses per croft
limit being increased where/when unopposed by neighbours
There
is a need for housing however it should be done in keeping with what is
already here ie not large housing schemes but small pockets scattered
throughout Sleat
If
the choice is between housing schemes or nothing then we should have schemes.
Crofters and landowners cause housing shortages by restricting
access to suitable building land. Community Councils tend to only object to housing
developments. They should instead
positively promote developments to the Planning authorities
Planning
restrictions in Skye are currently restrictive - seemingly more so than
in many other areas of Scotland. More
effort should be made, when building new affordable housing, to take environmental
issues into consideration especially with regards solar heating, efficient
insulation etc. Then people will
get affordable housing which is also economical to run and not wasteful
of valuable resources such as electricity
I
left the Highlands to go to university and it has not been possible to
return until now. My work will now permit me to live in Skye but although
I have a property in Edinburgh to sell, prices in Skye are also very high
and there is competition from those using property investment as a pension
alternative. The lack of housing inhibits regeneration and forces young
people to build lives elsewhere
Homes
for local people should have preference.
b) Comments (23) from those with no housing needs
No
distinction should be made between 'incomers' and others in housing need.
Priority must be given to those in most need. If a person born/raised
in Sleat moved outwith this area, their needs should be met regardless
of their geographical origin.
I
think a group of old folks houses close together would be a benefit
Greatest
need is for affordable housing for local people especially in view of
the recent property price increases, 'local' meaning people already living
in Sleat
I
wonder why some of the older or semi-ruined buildings can't be fixed up
for use as dwellings
(re
people with care needs - qu.6) All new builds are required to have disabled
facilities so any new housing will meet this need to some extent. (re
incoming people with a job - qu.6) Incomers
with jobs should be supported in finding accommodation but not to the
detriment of a local person/family
Please,
please don't turn Sleat into an area of 'housing developments'. Let's
let it remain 'the garden of Skye'
Currently
no housing needs, but we a son at University who wants to return to live
and work on Skye, so affordable starter homes to rent/buy will be an issue
in the next few years
In
my view - young local people already in Sleat and wanting to settle in
Sleat who would like to build their own home - but can't afford the price
of land and whose income reflects this, should be given a hand to overcome
this ie an affordable plot of land - or in some cases rented housing -
instead of people from other areas getting first choice when housing becomes
available in a desirable area
Land
should be made available for young local people to be able to stay on
in the area and build
Yes
we have been waiting for new kitchens since before Xmas - they need reminding
very quickly
From
Toravaig to Upper Ostaig is approx 3 miles. This is a 60mph road. Would
making it a 40mph stretch reduce the stringent access requirements for
new sites?
(re
qu.6) Incoming retired people often cited as a group which are to be encouraged
'least' - however, as long as there is provision for other groups, they
do play a part and often support local businesses - like me! (re qu.7) Housing in 'groups' is to be encouraged on many levels
- better not to use the term 'scheme'.
Great that you are addressing this issue through involving people
Stop
crowding too many houses into small areas - if there's no space people
may as well live in a town (where at least there's a decent bus service
and better shops)
Accessible
public transport should be available for any new housing
This
is a huge problem in Sleat, and I feel it has to be addressed as you do. Dispersed plots at affordable prices with grants/cash
available for low wage earners would be a major step forwards. There should be no major housing development
which would not be guaranteed to be available to local people ie Scottish
Homes/Housing Association which provide houses for anyone in need
Incoming
retired people - in exceptional circumstances eg to be near younger relatives
who will be able to care for them or the older relatives may help with
the care of children while their parents work
Large concentrations of 'modern' build housing would ruin the character of the area. More imaginative and environmentally aware building programmes would enhance the area
If
we build too many houses then we will lose our 'garden'
Although
I have no personal housing needs I do feel strongly about unrestricted
growth and development in inappropriate housing
Any
new housing should be constructed with the utmost sensitivity to the environment,
especially in coastal regions
This
is not the best 'set out' form. Although we do not have a housing need
ourselves, we do have opinions on what should or could be other persons
needs. This form excludes us from
completing questions
I have a house and don't want to move! I'm not sure if I should fill in the questionnaire? However, there seems absolutely no point in developing private housing with subsidies as this just shoots up in pric