Housing in Shetland

[Twerto]

I got a houseing application from Hjatland a couple of months back, read the first couple of paragraphs which basically said if you white, male, single and working dont bother reading any further... so I didnt.

[Ross]

I'm an aforementioned "soothmoother" . I basically stepped of the boat and needed somewhere to live. It took me over 2 years to get a flat with Hjlatland. And it wasn't handed to me on a plate. I wish it was.

[Ghostrider]

Well, "Windybrae", as some may recall, was in its original incarnation a private dwelling and attached guest house located on the road in to Quendale, called "Brae Cottage".

 

Sometime in the 90's the SIC bought it, and converted it, amidst much SIC debate and publicity, in to "temporary emergency accomodation", aka a homeless hostel. So far, we have purchase cost + conversion cost = ?

 

I will skip right over the wisdom of creating such a facility at such a location, as that is a whole other debate, and stick to it's "life" in said converted condition, for now.

 

It functioned in that role for a few years, and from what personal knowledge I have of some the residents during that period, all were "straight off the boat". Then, sometime, I think about four year ago, it was suddenly, very quickly and quietly closed down. Most folk, even locally were only aware it had after the fact.

 

The reason, we were expected to believe, was that it was going to be converted in to some sort of "Assessment Centre" for "problem bairns", it was connected to whatever they do in what was used to be the Bruce Hostel, but there wasn't room there for it. Well, perhaps.....

 

Anyway, again skipping right over the wisdom of locating such a facility at such a location, this is well over 20 miles out of the town you have to realise, and probably about a mile in a side road. Plus skipping right over the wisdom of removing accomodation from the housing pool at a time when demand was at least equal to that of today, as both too are whole othe rdebates. I shall continue....

 

Now this is where the facts are not so clear. Staff for this "Assessment" facility were advertised for, and allegedly recruited. Conversion work was reportedly started on the building, and allegedly completed. Then, ummm.... allegedly its stood empty ever since. Allegedly because it was "too far out of town to be workable" Add staff recruitment costs + more conversion work to above costs.

 

I of course may well be very wrong on some of these final points, local gossip is never to be considered relaible, in which case I apologise and stand corrected. However, my spy drives past the building multiple times on an almost daily basis, and knows the neighbourhood and residents well, so I'm inclined to give it a certain amount of credibility.

 

In the case my information is correct, there are numerous questions I'd very much like answered, but in the interests of brevity I'll stick with just one for now. If this building is, and has been standing empty these last few years, either incurring maintenance costs to add to the above total, or decaying and quickly depreciating in value, why hasn't it been sold and the proceeds used to obtain housing where the greatest shortage is, or returned to "temporary emergency accomodation" thus easing the pressure on all the houses and flats which have been hijacked from the regular housing stock and used for that purpose instead?

[ArabiaTerra]

^^^But, why do those standards not apply to Shetlanders?

The thing is Rasmie, there is no legal, official difference between "Shetlanders, born and bred" and any other citizen of the uk. We're all the same in the eyes of HM gov.

 

Are you saying that someone who was delivered in the Gilbert Bain should automatically get an extra 100 points say, on their housing application as someone who wasn't? That would be easy enough to police in Shetland, but how would you apply that rule down south?

 

"I was born closer to the Glasgow General Hospital than you, so I should get that council house".

 

If your talking about an independant Shetland then we could make rules like that, but as long as we're part of the uk then we go by the uk rules which (as far as I'm aware) say we are all equal before the law.

[Guest Anonymous]

^^^^ I have absolutely nothing against incomers getting accommodation, if they are in Shetland to work and add to the community. In fact I'd rather have housing allocated to sensible incomers than wasted on some of the drugged up, work shy, locals who contribute sod all to the community.

 

At any given time the council, no doubt bound by national stupidity as so many have pointed out, have to keep a number of houses and flats available for emergency needs. This sadly is a fact of life.

 

But where the whole situation of affordable housing starts to look bad, is when you look at the millions being pissed away by the council on projects which are ill conceived, or feasibility studies into projects which will never come to fruition. Just look at some of the major projects currently in the SIC "CRAZY PROJECTS" file, look at the cost of those, then figure out how many houses/flats that money could provide.

 

Thanks to national government policy, most areas of the UK have a shortage of affordable housing. But surely Shetland with all its oil money could be doing something about it.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who would rather see several hundred flats built, than see the council invest millions in a wind farm which is doomed to be a white elephant.

[Spinner72]

I hadn't heard of "Windybrae", but agree that its a terrible waste, and it leads naturaly on to what launches my own personal rant regarding allocation policy.

 

I live in a friendly scheme comprised of young families and older working couples. However, the council has seen fit to set aside one house as "emergency accomodation".

 

Over the past few years many have come and gone, but i can only recall 2 residents who were friendly and seemed down on their luck and obviously in need of somewhere to start anew, indeed one has moved in to permanent accomodation another scheme not so far away.

 

However, most residents are either rowdy, disruptive, or plain worrying. One was taken away by the cops never to be seen again, and the same house had 3 visits from the boys in blue last week.

 

When i asked why such accomodation was placed in a scemhe full of older people and bairns, i was told it was to provide a nice, calming, environment for those in need.

 

I dont think i need say much more on the wisdom of that policy...

[khitajrah]

I'd love to hear if anybody else has suffered from the anti Shetlander approach which is adopted by SIC housing.

 

I know a born and bred Shetlander who went into the housing offices a few days ago looking for a place for her and her very young children to live because she left her violent partner. For the safety of herself and her children she left and the SIC basically sent her on her merry way waying she'd "intentionally" made herself homeless and so they were not obligated to help her. Now, if she'd somehow managed to force him out of his house the council would help him, seeing as how he'd had no choice in the matter.

 

That aside, this whole anti-Shetland folk thing.. it's just pathetic. Rules are rules - just because someone is born in Shetland doesn't give them a right to sidestep them.

 

(edited)

[MaxFusion]

but he also said...

In fact I'd rather have housing allocated to sensible incomers than wasted on some of the drugged up, work shy, locals who contribute sod all to the community

 

its not anti shetlander, it's anti working person......

the easiest way to get a house up here is if you are drugged up & work shy

or female and preggers

[JAStewart]

I could certainly join in the *general* housing rant, however it has been my experience that many of the people who claim to have been offered nothing have actually been offered perfectly good houses but because they "didnt like the area" or something equally trivial, turned them down.

 

Yeah, I actually have a friend who is that exactly what you describe.

[JohanofNess]

"..druggies, soothmoothers etc.." cos yep, the two are basically indistinguishable.

 

Anti-Shetlander? I think more likely adopting the practice of all local authorities, ie giving housing on priority, as opposed to whether you were born in Somerset, Swansea or Shetland. Is the system abused? Very probably. NOT confined to Shetland. And, no, am not a SIC/Hjaltland renter myself.

 

 

Ahh yes but let’s just say you are from Somerset it’s not like going 10 miles up the road to a new town and asking for a house there. You’d have to travel hundreds of miles north to Aberdeen then get on a boat or a plane to an island in the north atlantic and then ask for a house. If you’re potless and roll up on the island without a job to start and no cash then you should be handed a ticket for the boat and told to go back to Somerset, it is farcical how someone can roll up off the boat on a whim and be prioritised ahead of anyone already on the housing list. It's a joke and not a funny one.

 

Sorry for the rant I'm not having a go at you brink I'm having a go at the ridiculous policies our government adopt in the name of "fairness"

[Styumpie]

Ahh yes but let’s just say you are from Somerset it’s not like going 10 miles up the road to a new town and asking for a house there. You’d have to travel hundreds of miles north to Aberdeen then get on a boat or a plane to an island in the north atlantic and then ask for a house. If you’re potless and roll up on the island without a job to start and no cash then you should be handed a ticket for the boat and told to go back to Somerset, it is farcical how someone can roll up off the boat on a whim and be prioritised ahead of anyone already on the housing list. It's a joke and not a funny one.

 

Sorry for the rant I'm not having a go at you brink I'm having a go at the ridiculous policies our government adopt in the name of "fairness"

 

100% agree

[Brink]

Hiya Johan, no offence taken at all matey In fact, cannot fault your post at all, you make a lot of sense. I think the point I was trying to make, in my muddle headed way, was that although yes, people move to Shetland and use their services, Shetland people also move to other parts of the UK, and the world, and make use of their services. Which, in my opinion is quite right and how it should be.

 

After all, we are all just people living our lives and trying our best to be happy, eh? What I don't like is the ills of a few being blamed on the many. I think that is unhelpful. People should be judged on their character/actions/integrity, not the accident of their birth.

 

Chuh, well, in an ideal world anyway.....

[Spinner72]

^^ Agreed 100%

 

Also made me realise i didnt make a very good job of explaining what i mentioned before regarding the councils policy of plonking "problem tennants" in family schemes. (Last night, in fact, police car and ambulance came careering up, went away with a young lad covered in blood, all in full view of at least 4 other houses with young children.)

 

As far as i know, most of these problem residents have been locals, so i'm sorry if i put across the idea that everyone from elsewhere was a troublemaker, far from it.

 

I think a big part of the problem with the system is the way people in emergency accomodation are automatically shot to the top of the allocation list.

[Ghostrider]

Another helly, another scheme, and another one carted off by the Police in handcuffs this morning. Yup, great idea this "calm and peacful" concept the Housing Dept. operate, the local Constabulary must just love rushing from one end of the isle to the other every few days to lift someone or sort out their shenanigans too.

[BigMick]

Yeah, the housing situation really makes my blood boil.

 

I'm a working man (two jobs in fact) and my wife works. We have two kids in school. I've paid my rent to my private landlord for the last five years, no problem. I'm not an alcoholic, I'm not a drug addict, I'm not just straight out of prison. The wife's not pregnant, or a single mum. We're basically a hard-working normal family. How many points do we get on the SIC and Hjaltland housing list?

 

0. Null. Zero. Zilch. Zip. Absolutely Sweet FA.

 

Surely having a job should count in your favour? Having a good financial record should count in your favour? Na, that would be the application of common sense, as opposed to Government guidelines.

 

Bah.