The owner of a self-catering cottage in the Western Isles has claimed a "perfect storm" of new SNP policies will be "as damaging as the clearances" for rural communities.
Frank Fitzpatrick inherited a croft house on South Uist that has been in his family for generations.
Due to ill health he gave up the crofting tenure and moved to the mainland with his wife and now lets the property out during the busy tourism season.
He said proposals to double council tax on second homes, energy efficiency targets for rented properties as well as the short-term let licensing scheme and tourism tax plan will force businesses to increase prices and damage tourism.
Visitors will vote with their hard-earned cash and go elsewhere.
He said the long-running Calmac ferry disruption had led to a 30% drop in bookings and said his frustration over SNP policy had led him to relinquish his party membership.
"These policies will be as damaging as the clearances and I never thought in my time I'd experience SNP clearances," he said.
"The existing licensing scheme for short-term lets is unfair, unreasonable and disproportionate.
"It takes no account of the fragile nature of our economy and other rural areas. I have no objections to improving safety having invested substantial sums on guest safety but the current scheme will lead to additional damage to our fragile economy."
READ MORE: Highlands and islands housing 'crisis hampering economic growth'
He said plans to double council tax on second homes that " already pay full council tax, provide local employment, support the building trades in the islands and bring in tourists" was unfair.
The Scottish Government hopes the plan will help increase housing provision in tourism hotspots.
Registers of Scotland data shows that while average prices across Scotland rose by 89% in 2022 compared to the 2004 baseline, the increase was as high as 168% in Shetland, 135% in the Western Isles and 107% in the Highlands.
Mr Fitzpatrick claimed there is no shortage of housing in the Uists.
He said: "I have a friend who works in housing who said they can't give council houses away.
"I can see that argument in places like Edinburgh.
"Some of the prices I've seen for the festival are absolutely astonishing.
"Most of the housing in the Western Isles is inherited. Where we live, six out of seven properties are within the same family and they have been for about 200 years.
READ MORE: Owners of Highland hotel 'reeling' after surprise award
"If this is enacted local businesses will be forced to increase prices making the Hebrides less competitive, especially during the cost of living crisis.
"These visitors will vote with their hard-earned cash and go elsewhere."
"The proposal to inflict a tourism tax on small businesses will also exacerbate all of the above to the detriment of remote areas such as the Hebrides.
"Taken together, I cannot think of a more effective way to damage already fragile communities simply for the political gain of a minority at the expense of the majority."
Mr Fitzpatrick, who lives near Glasgow and is retired from the Merchant Navy, said he will not be able to continue to let out the property after 2025 because of the costs involved in renovating the property to meet energy-efficiency targets.
READ MORE: Analysis: The NC500 has achieved its aim but at what cost
The Scottish Government is to introduce regulations requiring all private rented properties to reach an energy efficiency rating of C from 2025.
To achieve this, owners must install floor, roof, walls and loft insulation, an efficient heating system as well as double-glazing and low-energy lighting.
He said: "For us to get to Grade C we have to spend anything between £8,000 and £12,000 and that doesn't guarantee we get a certificate.
"The surveyor actually said to us very few properties they have surveyed have achieved it.
"He said that even if people have the money to undertake the necessary work, I'm not sure the resource in available in the Western Isles for all the recommended work."
He said the islands were also inhibited by the lack of affordable broadband and the withdrawal of copper landlines "which many older properties rely on, if they are fortunate enough to have broadband."
He said: "The Scottish Government voucher scheme is not fit for purpose at it gives telecoms companies up to £5,000 per installation paid for by the taxpayer while those same taxpayers are to be charged another £2500 in addition for the same installation.
"A great deal for the telecoms companies but a poor deal for the taxpayer."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We are committed to supporting our rural and island communities, which play an important role as we strive towards a growing, fairer and greener economy with wellbeing at its heart.
"That is why we will be publishing a Rural Delivery Plan, which will show how all parts of the Scottish Government are delivering for rural Scotland.
"We fully understand the challenges facing our island communities such as the disruption to ferry services.
“Our Reaching 100% (R100) and Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programmes have already connected around one million properties across Scotland to faster broadband. We are investing more than £600 million through the R100 contracts, extending full fibre broadband access to some of the hardest to reach rural communities in Scotland.
"Last month we published a consultation seeking views on increasing council tax charges on second homes and long term empty properties, as a way of balancing local requirements for housing with those of tourism businesses and local economy they support. We encourage people to contribute to this consultation which is open until 11 July.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel