Council / Energy developer legacy housing scheme could provide ‘up to 150’ homes
However some councillors expressed concern over timescales
UP TO 150 ‘legacy’ houses in Shetland could be delivered through energy company SSEN, a meeting has heard.
Shetland Islands Council’s development director Neil Grant said it was a “significant opportunity”.
But some councillors expressed concern that the figure was too ambitious given the potential timescales involved.
SSEN Transmission has pledged to deliver more than 1,000 new homes across the north of Scotland to house its workforce during a variety of proposed major infrastructure developments, but it has not yet publicly stated a number for Shetland.
Some of the projects on the horizon in the coming years for SSEN in Shetland include the construction of a large substation hub in the North Mainland, as well as the installation of a second HVDC subsea cable.
Through SSEN’s ‘legacy’ housing initiative, homes built for its workforce would be made available to local communities once they are no longer needed.
Speaking at a meeting of the SIC’s development committee on Wednesday, Grant said it was an “opportunity” given that the cost of building new homes in Shetland is currently high.
He warned however that there could be constraints in the capacity of the local construction sector if up to 150 homes were to be built.
But Grant said “it’s a very significant opportunity, however you look at it”.
He explained that the general legacy scheme sees SSEN partnering with a developer or landlord to build housing, with the company leasing it for three years at a “significant rate” before handing it back.
Lerwick South member Cecil Smith said he was concerned that if developers are wanting houses quickly for their workforce, “how are we going to accommodate that?”
He added that getting things on the ground was a big problem.
Grant said he understood Smith’s points but added: “The important thing here is we need to see it as an opportunity”.
The development director said Shetland could do what it did with the construction of the Viking wind farm and Shetland Gas Plant, and “let them come with barges, set up work camps, completely flood the local housing market”.
“If we don’t engage with legacy housing or legacy sites then that’ll be what they do, because that then becomes the only option,” Grant warned.
But he said the council needs to be convinced 150 homes could be constructed without damaging other social housing prospects.
“It looks like an opportunity, but I think we need to clear on whether it’s one that’s deliverable in Shetland,” Grant said.
SIC leader Emma Macdonald, whose Shetland North ward stands to include plenty of future energy infrastructure, said she shared Smith’s concerns and added that “we have to get this right”.
However North Isles member Robert Thomson said it was not just the SIC at play, with other interested parties potentially involved.
“I think we shouldn’t just be assuming this is all on us,” he said, with committee chairman Dennis Leask then saying Hjaltland Housing Association has been involved in looking at options.
But Shetland North member Andrew Hall opined that things were in “cloud cuckoo land”.
He said that having spent many hours at recent SSEN engagement events, “all they’re concerned about is money and their timescale”.
Hall said it was his view that the developer would not delay their own projects if legacy housing was not built in time, and would instead look to barges and camps.
“I hope we do get something out if it, I really do…but I just have my doubts due to the timescale, and every penny is so precious to SSEN and to [energy regulator] Ofgem,” he said.
Leask meanwhile said it has taken SSEN two years to get to the point of “us understanding that they’re going to offer to build these houses”.
Speaking after the meeting, an SSEN Transmission spokesperson said: “We continue to engage with Shetland Islands Council and local housing stakeholders to identify workforce accommodation solutions as part of our planning for proposed future projects.
“We are exploring all potential options, including those that will deliver affordable housing as part of our wider ambition to leave a positive legacy as a result of our projects.
“While discussions are in the initial stages, we aim to share more information with communities and stakeholders as this work progresses.”
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