Plans submitted for turning house into salmon farm shorebase

26 October 2026 12:52

A PLANNING application has been submitted by a salmon farming company to turn a residential house in the North Mainland into a shorebase facility for staff.

The Booth building near the Toft pier. Photo © Google 2026

The building, located a stone’s throw away from the Toft pier, would be repurposed into a shorebase featuring offices and a dedicated remote feeing station room.

Plans from Scottish Sea Farms said the company bought the Booth property in early 2026.

The repurposed bungalow would be used by salmon farm staff, and it would serve to support to the operations of the planned Fish Holm salmon farm in Yell Sound – which will be the largest of its kind in Scotland when it goes live in 2027.

The driveway will also be extended to accommodate four parking spaces and turning area.

The proposed new set-up would replace a temporary shorebase located opposite the building in the form of portacabins.

A planning statement for the temporary set-up said an existing shorebase at Setterness was no longer able to accommodate the growing size of its farming teams in the area, with the stop-gap measure needed until a permanent facility could be identified.

The new application for the Booth said the building would be in operation during weekdays and weekends between 7am and 7pm, with six staff members typically using it. It added that the building is currently being used as a residential property for staff.

“Following a daily briefing, site staff would change into their PPE and then walk from the site to the pier to access the fish farm vessel which would then transport them to and from the fish farm as per existing arrangements,” a planning statement explained.

The statement concluded that the proposed repurposing would “support the aquaculture industry, provide economic benefits, reuse an existing building and avoid adverse impacts on road safety or neighbouring amenity”.