HIGHLAND COUNCILLORS have been accused of ignoring the crofting regulator and their own policy by giving planning permission to a development which will use productive in-bye croft land for housing.

The councillors had been considering applications for houses on in-bye land in Gairloch and Kylerhea, and after some heated debate, voted to approve the former and reject the latter, despite the Crofting Commission advising in both cases that the land in question was of a quality suitable for grassland.

Councillor Biz Campbell, who herself claimed to have 'active crofting interests', said the Crofting Commission needed to ‘get real.’

“Crofts were given to servicemen when they came home from war, but nowadays they can’t make a living out of them, they’re too small," declared Councillor Campbell. “We’ve got to live with the times. Tourism is what’s sustainable now."

The Scottish Crofting Federation subsequently described the positive Gairloch planning decision as 'irresponsible' and 'nothing short of betrayal of our culture and of our future'.

“That these councillors claim to represent Highland interests is fallacy,” said SCF chair Yvonne White. “Crofting is deeply rooted in the Highland culture and communities. The croft in-bye is the good land, the land that we need to protect for food production. It is scarce in the Highlands and Islands and, who knows, we may well be needing every scrap we can get in the near future.

"There is alternative land that is not suitable for food production available for houses," she said. "It is galling to hear councillors, who are supposed to be our representatives, say that housing trumps the need to protect croft in-bye. Granting development consent on in-bye is rarely necessary and these recent assertions demonstrate a disappointing degree of ignorance or bias against crofting."

Ms White continued: “Coincidentally, on the day the Highland Council were deliberating upon this subject, so relevant to the future of crofting, an article in the media lamented the plight of young people trying to get into crofting but thwarted by exorbitant land prices. The value put on croft land is inflated by the fact that crofts are often situated in areas of outstanding natural beauty. People with the desire to own a holiday or retirement house amidst this beautiful scenery rarely want a croft to work, but have the purchasing power to push croft prices up and out of reach of young folk.

"This situation is exacerbated by councillors fuelling croft prices by giving planning consent for inappropriate developments on croft in-bye," she insisted. "In this case it was even against the recommendation of the Crofting Commission, a statutory consultee, and their own planning officer. Are councillors competent to over-rule two professional recommendations and their own policy which ‘seeks to protect croft land and crofting as a core component of life in the Highlands’? !Comments made by some councillors about crofting seemed to be prejudiced against crofters and not worthy of someone in public office within a crofting county. We will be taking this up with the council.

“We all know that young folk are the future of the Highlands and Islands," she concluded, "but it is difficult for them due to the work situation, jobs being scarce, seasonal and insecure. Crofting can give them a foothold to live here, the necessary resilience. We have numerous examples of young families thriving because they have a croft. This irresponsible behaviour by the councillors is nothing short of betrayal of our culture and of our future."