draft report - Scottish Crofting Federation

Stromness there is very little on the other isles 13% -169 houses and none of the islands of North
Ronaldsay & Papa Westray.
House Conditions
The housing stock on Orkney is on average older than the rest of the country and this is reflected in the
level of BTS housing which stands at 4% of the stock nationally BTS is 1%
House Prices
Average house prices in Orkney are £103,771 (May 2007); Bramley considered that 58% of average
households would be able to afford a 2-bed property in Orkney, higher than the national average of 47%. 22
Housing Need
Orkney Housing Strategy noted that there were 550 applicants on the council waiting list and that every let
attracts 2.2. applicants. This is significantly less than the national average of 5-6 applications per let
although still evidence of housing need.
Bramley (2006) projects a small level of housing need (40) in Orkney over the next 14 years to 2021 23 .
The number of homeless applications in Orkney has risen in recent years from just 20 in 1991 to 163 in
2000/01.
Housing investment in Orkney has increased substantially in recent years resulting in 288 new houses.
2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07
Area Spend Units Spend Units Spend Units Spend Units
Orkney £2.87M 73 £2.054M 39 £5.846M 56 £5.019M 120
Table 5. Communities Scotland Investment Programme Source: Communities Scotland
3.5.2. Land Supply
A housing land audit conducted by Orkney Islands Council in 2000 identified effective land available for
270 units. Structure Plan projections outlined a need for 830 units to 2010; making a shortfall of 560
houses this was topped up to 700 in the Housing Land Audit to provide for better flexibility. `90% of this
shortfall was identified as in the Orkney Mainland and linked islands and just 10% in the remainder of the
islands. The Orkney Local Plan has identified sites within settlements to absorb the shortfall of housing
land.
Water infrastructure constraints are important constraints on housing development outside of Kirkwall as
planning policy prohibits development within towns and villages unless there is a public sewerage system.
Houses on Crofting Land Rural Housing Service 2007
14