Comrie workers are being forced to live in caravans due to a lack of affordable housing, according to a local business owner.
John Castley, owner of Wild Hearth Bakery on the edge of the village, has revealed that two new recruits had no option but to spend months in temporary caravans on a farm.
He also says some new staff have pulled out of positions and other established workers have had to return to their native countries because there is simply nowhere for them to live.
“I have had new recruits who really wanted to work for us who ended up staying in caravans,” John said.
“Two couples ended up in a caravan in a local farm so they could start work and buy themselves time for new accommodation.
“One couple were from Yorkshire and were on the farm for four months.
“We eventually managed to get them somewhere but it was not secure rental accommodation.”
John was speaking ahead of the deadline on Sunday, October 9 for a housing needs survey that could go some way to easing the problem in Comrie.
This feature details the housing problems faced by residents in Comrie.
‘Things changed completely’
Wild Hearth Bakery has been a local success story since John opened it with two other bakers on the former Cultybraggan Camp in May 2017.
The wholesale bakery now employs 23 people and its growth plans include an additional 15 staff in the next few years.
However, the cost of housing has become a constant headache in the past three years.
“In 2017 there were always three to five rental properties available at any point,” John said.
“I remember quite clearly that being the case because I had to help new recruits find accommodation.
“From 2019 things changed completely. I think it had something to do with airbnbs increasing in popularity and also Comrie as a destination increasing in popularity.”
Six staff still seek long-term homes
John says he is fortunate to have a strong social media presence that helps him secure accommodation for his staff.
The Wild Hearth Bakery Facebook page has more than 5,000 followers and shout-outs can bear fruit.
But it is an ongoing challenge.
“Six of my staff are currently looking for long-term accommodation,” he said.
“Some of those are looking to buy and some of those to rent.
“But their accommodation at the moment is not really what they want and they are really struggling to find a long-term solution.
“We have had people pull out of recruitment because they couldn’t find accommodation.
“We have had one couple who wanted to settle in Scotland but they ended up going back to Italy because they couldn’t find somewhere affordable to buy.”
‘Even we can’t afford it’
Perhaps surprisingly, Australia-born John, 53, has his own housing struggles.
He lives with wife Caroline, 47, and daughter Marianne, 5.
“My wife and I own our own house in Comrie but it’s tiny. We have a little girl and would want to upgrade but even we can’t afford it.”
John says the housing survey is “brilliant” and is keen to help financially.
He added: “What I would support is housing that is low carbon and designed to be environmentally and energy efficient.
“Those are the solutions I would be prepared to invest in to help the community.”
Affordable housing starts here
The survey is the first stage of a process that is hoped will yield affordable housing in Comrie.
The Aberfeldy Development Trust has undertaken a survey, filled in by 295 residents, that highlighted the depth of the problem elsewhere in Perthshire.
Working with the Communities Housing Trust (CHT), it is hoped these findings will help kick-start a programme of land purchasing and new housing developments for people with a local connection.
Cairngorms communities Tomintoul, Kincraig and Newtonmore are even further along the road, having already funded new homes.
Landlords ‘reluctant to allow children’
Residents in Comrie are now working with the CHT to emulate these projects.
One of the driving forces is Aisling Brady, who is a member of the Comrie Community Land Group, set up as an offshoot of Comrie Development Trust.
The new group is looking at how land in and around Comrie can be used to benefit the community.
Aisling, 29, was inspired to act in response to her own housing problems.
In late 2020 she moved to the town from Bristol with her partner Alex Loveday, 28. They both had jobs at Tomnah’a Market Garden in Comrie Croft.
Unable to find somewhere to rent, they spent eight months informally paying to house-sit in the town.
It was less than ideal.
“It wasn’t our home so we were unable to put in our own furniture or properly settle in,” Aisling said.
“We missed out on a couple of rental properties due to high demand and a really low number of rental properties coming to the market.
“It was suggested to us by estate agents that landlords weren’t going to make any improvements to properties we viewed in a poor state, because there was so much demand.
“Two properties we viewed were expensive and in a bad condition.
“We were also given anecdotes by estate agents about people with young children looking for one-bed flats because there was nothing else for them.
“They were desperate but landlords were saying they would rather not give it to them because they would prefer someone who doesn’t have a child, or a pet or whatever, and they know this demand exists.
“There is an awareness that there is a problem but there is absolutely no impetus to deal with it and create housing for people through ordinary means or by traditional housing developers.”
‘How can anyone afford it?’
Aisling feels lucky that the couple finally managed to rent a one-bedroom bungalow in Comrie.
Alex now works for John at Wild Hearth Bakery and the couple want to make roots in the area.
“It is a beautiful place and we feel incredibly lucky to have found anything here, even though our place is way too small for us and our needs in the medium term,” Aisling said.
“We can’t paint it, make it our own, and there isn’t space for us here to have children.
“This isn’t my landlord’s fault – it’s just that there aren’t bigger properties available to rent or affordably buy.
“Given how much money we have been able to save for a deposit and what our collective earning capacity is, we should be able to afford to get onto the property ladder – but we can’t.
“We are low-middle earners. I work in the charity sector so don’t earn big bucks and he works in the local bakers.
“We have worked hard and saved as much as we can for years.
“We are very frugal but that just makes me feel even worse for other people.
“How can anyone afford it in a family with only one salary, for example, or if you already have kids and need more space?”
‘They live in Crieff or have left the area’
Supply and affordability of housing is affecting many others, Aisling believes.
“We don’t just love the surroundings of Comrie – but the people too,” she said.
“We have built community and friendships here and value that very much.
“This is why it’s the kind of place we would like to be able to settle and raise a family.
“We’re not from here but this is a place we have made our home.
“But lots of people born in Comrie can’t live in Comrie now if they chose to.
“They live in Crieff or have left the area altogether.
“Not because they want to, but they can’t find a home or afford those that do come onto the market.
“And the fact that there is little rental accommodation as well, in part due to many rentals being holiday lets or having become second homes, is a real issue.”
Homes would not be on the open market
The Comrie Community Land Group has a plan to address the crisis but firstly needs people to fill in the survey.
“We would like people to share their wants and opinions with the group,” Aisling said.
“We want to develop new housing or buy existing housing or derelict buildings in the area as a community that can be affordably rented or sold.
“It would not be on the open market.
“We would work in partnership with the Communities Housing Trust who have a model of maintaining housing at a discount of the market rate.
“If you sell the house you sell it with the same discount so it remains affordable.
“It is not like the open market where the first people to apply or those who offer the most money for a property get it.
“People would apply for the house and their application is assessed against a set of priorities which we as a community can set.
“Priority can be given to people who are born here, people who work locally, those with children to boost the school roll or people working in care roles to support elderly people here.
“So there are all sorts of ways in which people can be scored if they apply for the housing, but the first thing we need to do is get the housing.
“So it’s going to be a process which requires a lot of community backing.”
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