22 Mar The struggle to find a home in a picture-postcard village
BBC NewsÂ
Sitting on the shores of Loch Broom, Ullapool is one of the most popular tourist spots in the Highlands.
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The fishing village and surrounding area, which is set among picture-postcard hills, lochs and coastline, has a population of just 2,200.
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But for people who want to live and work in the community, it is a huge challenge to find somewhere affordable to call home.
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High costs, a booming tourism industry and issues affecting the building industry have been blamed for the problem.
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Lochbroom and Ullapool Community Trust, which has been examining the housing challenges, describes the lack of homes as a “very real and present crisis”.
Some families have spent years trying to find a suitable property.
Marine scientist and mum-of-two Ailsa McLellan said it felt like she had been living on property websites for the past five years.
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Ailsa has been trying to find a home after her marriage broke down, but has so far been unable to find somewhere to buy or rent due to a lack of long-term lets.
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She has been living at a friend’s house while she searches for a home.
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“Even the very few houses that come up in the area that I can almost afford are just terrible,” she said.
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“The energy rates are really low. Most of them are oil-fired so I would be moving into a property I could not afford to heat.
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“There is no good housing stock.”
