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Highland Visitor Levy for Highland Homes

The unchecked growth of tourism has deepened the housing crisis in the Highlands.

Landlords have taken advantage of the explosion in tourist numbers in recent years and more and more homes are now permanent holiday homes.

The Highlands have a severe shortage of social housing. As a result, businesses are struggling to retain workers, young people are not staying in the region, and there is extensive hidden homelessness. The council has committed to 24,000 homes in the next ten years but we need homes now!

Right now, Highland Council is consulting on introducing a Visitor Levy. This has the potential to raise over £10 million a year for the community.

Highland Council say that money raised from the levy will go into local infrastructure such as roads and public facilities “specifically for the benefit of the visitor economy."

 

But it does not have to be this way!

 

In Edinburgh, the council has committed to use £5 million of the tourist levy to borrow £70m to fund new council homes and to review this to raise as much as £150m.

Why should Edinburgh get council homes and not the Highlands? Why couldn’t the Highland Council do the same?

 

Join our call for the council to vote through a Visitor Levy that benefits the people who live and work in the Highlands!

There can be no Highland Hospitality if Highlanders don’t have homes!

Sign this petition to call for a Visitor Levy that funds the council homes we need.

 

By signing this petition I agree to have Living Rent fill out the Highland Council’s "Visitor Levy consultation" on my behalf.

Join our call for:

- A Visitor Levy of 8%

- £1.5m of the projected £10m annual levy to be ring fenced for building new council homes and/or retrofitting and bringing back into use empty council homes

- Some of this levy used to boost the Housing Discretionary Fund

500 Signatures

368 Signatures

Will you sign?

Join our call for:

- A Visitor Levy of 8%

- £1.5m of the projected £10m annual levy to be ring fenced for building new council homes and/or retrofitting and bringing back into use empty council homes

- Some of this levy used to boost the Housing Discretionary Fund

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  • Colleen Bell
    published this page in Our campaigns 2025-01-27 14:56:59 +0000