Golspie eyes long-term gains from temporary workers’ village
The establishment of a temporary pylon line workers’ village on the outskirts of Golspie could bring long-term benefits to the community, according to the chairperson of the local community council.
Henrietta Marriott, chairperson of Golspie Community Council said that developers could be asked to fund or deliver community legacy projects if the pop-up village is approved.
It was revealed last week that engineering and construction firm J Murphy & Sons had notified Highland Council of its interest in building modular housing on sites at Drummuie, Golspie, and Achinduich, near Lairg.
The temporary villages would accommodate up to 400 workers involved in the proposed new 174km pylon line from Spittal to Beauly, commissioned by SSEN Transmission.
The workers’ accommodation is expected to remain in place for five years, should planning permission be granted. Formal applications have not yet been submitted, but public consultation events are scheduled for November and December in both affected communities.
At its meeting on Monday evening, Golspie Community Council was informed that Highland Council mostly owns the Drummuie site, but a section of land belongs to Albyn Housing and has existing planning permission for residential development.
Mrs Marriott said: “It is not all bad. This could be very advantageous for the village, so we need to find out if the community would want us to try and get out of this in terms of long term legacy.
“One suggestion might be to get some affordable housing, rather than just modular homes, which could then be handed over to the community. We could then rent these out at an affordable rate and generate revenue. Alternatively they could potentially help us construct flood defences.
“We could use it (the pop-up village) as leverage to get our banking services back. The workers’ village at Golspie will accommodate 250 people, which is a significant number and they will require banking services. We need to know what to ask for if we believe that is the right path to go down.”
Attendees at the community council meeting voiced concerns about an increase in vehicles accessing the A9 via the Drummuie junction. However, one person present said that the intention was to bus workers to the pylon sites.
One member of the public said that the view of Ben Bhraggie would be “blighted” by the proposed modular homes while another said that there were as yet too few details to be able to assess the project.
Community council members agreed that surveying local residents would be the best way to gauge local opinion on the project and establish what should be asked of the developers.
Mrs Marriott continued: “Murphy has agreed to attend our meeting on Monday, December 8. That is after the November consultation session but before the December one.
“We have until then to get our ducks in a row and decide what questions we want to ask and what we as a village want to come out of it.”