papastour

Please note anybody interested in purchasing Hurdiback, they will be sharing Grazing rights with Forwick croft, they will not have full useage of the grazing rights to themselves. Despite the misleading info given on auction site. BUYER BEWARE. If you want clarity on the matter please contact the Crofting Commission.

I see living on Papa Stour is like living in NORWAY based on Link below

http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/world-s-happiest-countries-233204795.html

Any views anyone?

I dont know who you are Ghostrider, but I have often admired your comments and wisdom on various subjects

Thanks

Based on info my friend has aquirred

NOT ALL CROFTS have a SINGLE FARM SUPPLEMENT

The knock on effect is crofts like Hurdiback have NO ACTIVE GRANTS so

it is down to how good a farmer you are to make a living and what other diversification you can achieve ie Tourism, Food production etc

Should Crofts get grants?

Crofts that do not get grants How do they cope with competition that do get grants and make a living?

If Crofts get grants, should they all get grants so as to encourage them to work the land? From what I have experienced Crofting (with no grants) for a living is a waste of time and money.

But the satisfaction of growing your own food, nothing like it. Better still sharing home grown food with your friends round a dinner table is a great feeling. But it does not pay the bills.

I see the guide price has gone up from £75000 with no bidders to £125000

Please be aware that the 60 acres of scattald is common grazing land shared with with 3 crofts ( Hurdiback, part Olligarth & Forewick) Robinas owner has automatic useage to the scattald as part of the croft land

You cant sell something that doesn't belong to you.

Perhaps it might sell now that it is a HIGHER PRICE ?

John Lewis never knowingly undersold?

Article in Shetland Times is suggesting Crofters are struggling and being treated unfairly. Asking for opinions

http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2013/01/14/crofters-urged-to-highlight-unfair-regulations

Do most Crofters make a profit? Most I have listened to say they are losing money.Or they do crofting for love these days. Why is this? What is happening to Farming/Crofting ?

Is this causing Crofts to lose value? How many Crofts are abandoned ? Any help for new crofters entering the life style?

I am not the seller. I do have a croft

Genuine concern that my friend knows all the facts as many people think having a croft is the same as a farm.

If I was selling my croft I would be selling it as a active business, Hurdiback croft is abandoned with no business, no holiday backpackers,and buildings in part falling down. I guess to restore the croft house to a modern standard will cost £40000 plus

Might be better to flatten the house and surrounding buildings and start again with purpose built barns etc and modern insulated enviro friendly home.

Papa Stour is a great place to live when you have friendly neighbors. Lets hope the next owners are friendly.

Apologies if you think the place is being run down

My friend was interested in the place at the right and fair price, whatever that is

My friend has a Excellent well payed job and can afford such a house, but the wise ones in Shetland advice you cant get a mortgage on a croft.

My friend says the house and buildings have been decrofted, not sure if that makes any difference to being able to get a lender to loan on a outer Island croft /house?

Would appreciate a quality accurate answer as I do not want to see my friend lose money like the last owners.

What does it say about Shetland to a outsider when it plays films to the public like "The Wicker Man"? Just stereo types outsiders view points in a light hearted humour.

Papa Stour or Prison?

Some have chosen prison rather than stay on Papa Stour. (drug or alcohol related sentencing)

So why would anyone with a sound mind pay £75,000 to stay on Papa Stour?

It is indeed cheaper for the state to send inmates to Papa Stour rather than to go to send them to prison... but £75,000 is indeed a heavy fine for any innocent party!!

Why invest in Papa Stour?

Is it the friendly inmates(locals)?

Is it because of the low unemployment?

Perhaps it is the social night life?

Or the great local shops?

Free giant rabbits?

The great sunshine? Please let me know!

Either way the latest incomers have left for whatever reason and are now just another mouth from the south that has gone back with a little less money in the pockets than when they started off. Perhaps they can now say they are indeed "time served"?

Hi

A 120 acres'croft went on ebay on 19th Dec 2012 with NO RESERVE

at £75,000 starting bid. It did not manage to get one single bid when the auction ended this year in spite of its 3,500 viewers. The owner of this croft had paid £220,000 just over 42 months ago.

example

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-bed-Farmhouse-and-2-bed-Cottage-and-120-acres-/251206191330?pt=UK_HG_Property_RL&hash=item3a7d0e48e2

Zoopla is suggesting that prices are still dropping... Is this really the case?

What is your opinion/experience of what the current situation really is?

Is it easy to get a mortgage to buy an outer island in the current financial climate? Would you invest your hard earned money in such property?

Two Mysteries which are No Mysteries At All

In recent days the British government has faced serious criticism on two apparently unrelated fronts. Cameroon is terrified to respond with any vigour – and here’s the reason why…

First, farmers are rightly complaining about the price paid by the dairies for their milk.

Secondly, small businessmen are unable to borrow from the banks despite government funds being made available.

In both cases, and as usual, the source of Cameroon’s embarrassment lies in Brussels, which is why he and his wimpish ministers can’t or won’t talk about them.

First, the farmers. Dairies complain that the open market price for dairy products – cream, butter, cheese – has collapsed. So they have to reduce the price they pay farmers for their milk.

What they don’t say is that the EU has been subsidising the production of dairy products in other EU countries for years, and they pay those subsidies to exporters of those diary products. In other words, EU-subsidised diary products are being dumped on the British market and destroying one of the UK’s best and oldest industries.

(A few years ago, Parmalat, the giant Italian diary products manufacturer, was caught diluting Italian butter before exporting it. They made millions from the EU’s ludicrous export subsidies scheme, even though the products were unfit for human consumption. No-one was ever successfully prosecuted. Nothing new there, then.)

So long as the EU’s export subsidies on diary products remain so will British farmers’ financial pain.

Now, small businesses. Certainly the Bank of England has recently pumped millions into the banking sector in what is euphemistically described as “quantitative easing†– code for inventing money out of thin air. But – and it’s a big but – the EU has instructed the banks to increase their capital ratios (the amount of cash in their balance sheets to support their lending portfolios) to nine percent – and do it now!

It used to be two percent.

So, yes, the banks have the money – but the EU says they can’t lend it until their balance sheets are billions stronger. Come back later – if you’re still in business!

Question – who’s going to tell the farmers and small businesses? Certainly not the British government, it seems.

Info from Ashley Mote

(** mod edit - merged to existing thread **)

How to save money for the council and the people of Shetland

1)The outer Islanders (papa stour)could drop their own rubbish at the piers for collection.

2)People found wasting the councils and authoritys time on false or exaggerated claims about a neighbouror/ situation should be charged.

3)Raise the cost of parking in Lerwick so its a incentive for people to use the bus

4)Charge car parking at the airports, this may encourage more business for taxis/private hire business

5)Charge for toilot paper and soaps in the public toilots.

6)Viking Bus Station to start selling refreshments again( revenue earner)

7)Learning Centre/Library to charge tourists for use of the new computers

8)Grass cutting service could be replaced in some areas with council sheep and then sell the sheep at a later date

9)Less police and more rights to defend yourself and property without getting punished yourself

10)Council Letters and Bills to be sent by email rateher than post/ Our responsibility to find our own emails, and be helped at various computer places to retrieve our emails if we dont have computer

11)If on council business drive slower, saves fuel etc.

12)Have slower speeds on the roads, reduces wear and tear on the roads.

13)Do we need so many staff at the swimming pools?

14)Next lot of councilors elected to do the works as volunteers and just get expences couvered( serving the community spirit)

15)Any job offers to council workers and executives on a trial basis only, until we know they are any good.

16)Purchasing department must get quotes from other suppliers down south to make sure the local suppliers are competetive ie purchasing cars

i know from my own experience that the council pay over the odds when buying locally in cars

17)Keep council vehicles longer and well maintained( they dont fall apart after three years)

18)Councils could purchase second hand vehicles sometimes.

19)Some council staff could work from home some days of the week rather than traveling into town

20)Any drunks using accident and emergency services will be charged for costs

21)If RNLI are called out when some one has been negligent/stupid charged at a later date for costs( watch out captain calamity)

22)Any damage caused by vandals and found made to pay for damage or if children involved parents to pay full cost of repair

23)Any damage caused by car accident to council property, driver must pay the costs( bonus payed to anyone who helps find or name the driver)

24)If any Business debts are written off owing to the council and a councilor or someone in the finance dept had a interest or family connection in the business and had a vote in the matter without declaring should have the cebt put back onto them.

or the debt is reinstated if found to not been transparent in the transaction

25)Any council houses sold off, the money should be reinvested into another council house/flat

26)Some printed materials/ and public information doesnt need to go into the newspapers, and some doesnt need to be sent in the post

27)Islands that are populated should have a ferry/ plane and connecting services so that everyone can get to work every day (apart from Sundays)on the mainland if needed at a office working hours ie 9am

Yes you make good points and it does seem on the surface I quit to easy, but the computers needed to be on 24 hours a day every day, apart from the odd controlled shut down. Laptops dont cope being put on all the time.

The income was only a small amount of 400 dollars every 4 weeks, but it needed very little work involved as long as the computers had constant electric. When any power cuts happened it was a full days work re entering everything( minimum)

The computers had been specially made for this type of work. Im not a computer engineer, and getting experts to come and look at the machines was beyond my finances.

I also decided it was beyond economic sence to carry on while I didnt have a guaranteed constant supply of electric. As I was losing a computer on each time they refueled, or interuption of supply.And I was letting the companys down that I was supplying.

I never anticipated it would take two years to relay the electric cable.

I would like to go back into business but at the moment the electric company are threatening to cut my supply, yet we still have issues to resolve. My computers are still awaiting to be fixed as promised in the good will gesture that never really fully happened.

I live in Papa Stour and we had to rely on generators as the cable had snapped. Approx two years it took them to lay another one, on the same rocks(madness). I have been trying for over three years to get all issues sorted with Hydro. I had at least six computers break plus microwaves and fridges. They are supposed to sort out issues within 12 weeks. Im now going through advocacy in Shetland and the ombudsman. I pay under protest now my electric bill hoping one day all issues will be resolved. I had to give up the compter business I was doing as I didnt have a guaranteed supply of electric. Now David Cameran describes me as a welfare scrounger. But I put alot of the blame on the Hydro company.

Any advice will be welcome.