Highland housing crisis cannot wait

Every single second that passes, the Highland Council area loses out on critical funds that could be directly reinvested into social housing and public services.

The SNP administration at Highland Council seem content to let their own levy be kicked into the long grass at every opportunity, when councils all over Scotland are going to be reaping the benefits of theirs within the next 18 months. Meanwhile, those of us that live and work in the Highlands will be missing out on millions of pounds of investment until late 2030.

In fear of upsetting the tourist industry further, Highland Council has made the embarrassing and incomprehensible decision to bow down to the golden goose and delay the visitor levy again until another report, telling us what we already know, has been delivered.

We need our councillors to start listening to us now! With local elections taking place next year, many of them will not be around to see the improvements a visitor levy will bring, and we could be left facing a new administration that would be happy to throw it in the bin altogether.  

The council have told us that they will continue to engage with tourist bosses, and public consultation will take place “as soon as is applicable”. From what we’ve learned about the Highland Council, that means, any time in the next millennium!

The introduction of a visitor levy of 8% now would bring in vital funding that could go towards building new social housing, as well as improving infrastructure, and investment in tourist and public services.