Bakkafrost Scotland wins permission to provide worker housing on Scalpay amid local accommodation shortage.
Bakkafrost Scotland has received planning permission to install temporary housing units at its Scalpay site in response to a shortage of available accommodation in the Western Isles.
According to a report by the BBC, the company will construct 14 temporary residential units and associated welfare facilities at Cuddy Point. The move follows difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff due to the limited housing stock on the island.
Planning controversy brews over Bakkafrost’s new Scalpay worker units
The temporary accommodation will be made available to employees working across Bakkafrost Scotland’s operations on the Isle of Harris.
In its submission to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the company cited the housing shortage as a significant operational constraint. While the local authority acknowledged that siting temporary accommodation within a compound was “not ideal”, it approved the proposal based on the company’s demonstrated need.
Bakkafrost Scotland, which operates approximately 45 sites along Scotland’s west coast, employs more than 400 people.
The development was first reported by local democracy reporter Peter Urpeth via the BBC.