OUR ECONOMY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

GREEN HOMES

Young people are being forced out of the islands because of the cost of housing and land. As a recent example, a croft in Harris was recently put up for sale at offers over £1.5m, completely unaffordable to any young people on the island.


The only way to guarantee affordable housing long-term is to build homes for rental. There are now experienced builders, small businesses based in the Highlands and Islands, who have a proven track record in being able to build low carbon, designer built houses, designed to minimise fuel bills.


The Greens’ national Co-operation Deal will lead the way with at least £1.8bn invested in making Scotland’s homes greener, warmer and more efficient, and Greens will help secure the Western Isles’ part of that investment.


Greens in government will deliver rent controls and new rights for tenants. Greens on the Council will campaign to support a more localised look on issues and solutions for the region.


Green Councillors will work:

  • To ensure that more publicly-owned high quality property is available for young people and families. We will push for all new publicly-owned housing be built to Passivhaus standards similar to Cnoc Soilleir to reduce fuel poverty, increase quality of life and help the Western Isles meet its climate targets. We should follow Scandinavian standards to build homes future-proofed, rather than have to pay to retrofit insulation.

  • To support the control of short-term lets of properties which would otherwise be suitable as homes for local people.

  • To support organisations like Tighean Innse Gall to provide more high quality homes.

  • To ensure more homes are built in Uist and Benbecula to meet the demands of local people.

TRANSPORT

There is often no choice in the Western Isles but to use a private car due to the geography of the region, but a significant and growing number of people would leave their car behind if the alternatives were more attractive. We need to cater for them, to reduce pollution and make it easier for essential services to get around. Cyclists and pedestrians need to be separated from buses, cars and lorries.


Every driver knows that. Pedestrians and cyclists certainly do!


Green Councillors will work to:

  • Support Local Air Traffic Control operating in the Highlands & Islands. We will continue to support the Trade Unions in their negotiations with HIAL to keep locally based approaches to Air Traffic Control in the Highlands and Islands. We will continue to fight against the downgrading of Benbecula Airport and protect local jobs.

  • Increase active travel. We will establish priorities for building safe walking and cycling paths on the islands. (Iochdar pathway Project) Thanks to the Greens Co-operation Agreement 10% of the national travel budget will be allocated to active travel – three times the current budget. We will work with Council officials, Sustrans, HiTrans, and Transport Scotland to help create effective plans in order to ensure the islands get best use of this investment.

  • Contribute to the national Fair Fares Review to ensure the unique issues faced by islanders are represented when considering concessionary schemes for bus, air and ferry. Greens in government have already implemented free bus journeys for under 22s from January 2022, the same must apply to ferries, they are islanders buses!

  • Deliver more ‘Safe to School’ initiatives. The aim is to ensure every child who lives within two miles of any school is able to walk or cycle safely to school should they choose to do so.

  • Expand Electric Vehicle infrastructure. The Western Isles needs huge infrastructure expansion to make EVs a practical choice.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The Western Isles has a brilliant opportunity to be amongst the pioneering UK and European councils developing a local Circular Economy. We aim to move from a system where resources are dug up, used once and then buried in landfill, to one where materials are constantly re-used and repurposed. This is a priority project for us, with potential zero cost and high benefit for every aspect of our local economy.


Green Councillors will work:

  • To build the Circular Economy within the Western Isles, collaborating with local businesses and agencies in preparation for the upcoming Circular Economy Bill from the Cooperation Agreement.

  • To launch an Outer Hebrides Circular Economy Alliance brand, to join together and promote local businesses, community projects and individuals who participate in the circular economy. We will encourage ways of using “waste” - such as food scraps and cardboard from restaurants going to composting for local growers, which in turn grow high quality produce for local restaurants.

TOURISM

Tourism growth in the Outer Hebrides has been steadily growing with many communities feeling overwhelmed due to the lack of infrastructure resulting in little public benefit.


Communities must benefit from tourism rather than it being ‘done to’ them; therefore, communities must have a lead role in tourism development. Tourism must work within ecological and human/social carrying capacities of the regions/areas. These carrying capacities need to be defined and used to develop reasonable limits to tourism in any locality.


Communities in tourism areas must remain as living communities and not just be destinations. Housing in tourism hotspots must be protected to ensure availability for local families.


Green Councillors will;

  • Promote the Outer Hebrides as a high quality “slow tourism” destination.

  • Work to introduce a Transient Visitor Levy in the Outer Hebrides. Money raised will be ring-fenced to help alleviate tourist-related infrastructure pressure – i.e. repair of roads and potholes; public toilets; waste disposal facilities. All of this will improve visitor experience while also benefitting communities in tourist hotspots.

ENERGY

The Outer Hebrides is well-placed to be a world leader in renewable energy. With our wealth of skills and natural resources, there is no good reason why we can’t maximise benefit for the region in a fair and equal way. We will scrutinise renewable scheme proposals and ensure that they consider communities and the environment.


Green Councillors will work to support;

  • A Just Transition to Green energy. We will support growth of the renewable energy industry, creating good long-term jobs.

  • The growth of onshore and offshore wind, particularly community-owned, and where appropriately sited.

  • The Cooperation Agreement has set an ambitious aim of producing between 8 and 12 GW of installed onshore wind by 2030, subject to consultation. Hydro was the renewable which transformed the Highlands and Islands in the 1950s, wind could do the same for this generation. We will scrutinise environmental impacts and prioritise community ownership. The Outer Hebrides have great potential to be a real powerhouse of renewable energy, and we will work to ensure our communities benefit from this.

  • We recognise the need for energy storage, and we will support schemes which use sustainable technologies where they don’t have adverse impacts on the environment.

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS

Green Councillors will continue to support and promote local business.


Our reputation is for clean air, pure water, high quality visitor experience – and we can capitalise on that to promote sustainable local business but we must also improve the infrastructure to sustain the level of visitors.

The forthcoming Good Food Nation Bill in particular gives opportunities to promote high quality island food businesses, something we certainly don’t lack.


Fight for a decent ferry service to Lochboisdale. The Greens will use their influence in Scottish Government to push for a quality ferry service, something that is desperately needed in South Uist. These are lifeline services not luxuries.