Revamped plans for Stornoway housing development 14/2/13
A plan to construct nearly 50 new homes in Stornoway by a former chief of the collapsed
Uist Builders group has been scaled down for the moment.
Now Seumas Pedrana, one of the former senior directors of UBC, proposes a social
housing development in the grounds of a former garden nursery by Tolmie Terrace.
In October, Hebrides News revealed that Mr Pedrana, under the auspices of a new company
- Inverness-based UBC Developments - proposed to build a mix of 49 houses and flats
on the site behind Anderson Road Nurseries, running along Tomlie Terrace.
However, a changes to the proposal now focuses on building 22 houses on a smaller
site. It mainly includes units of semi-detached homes plus one row of three properties.
The new homes are expected to get Scottish Government funding.
The land was owned by Uist Builders which was granted planning permission for a similar
social housing scheme in 2006. That development fell by the wayside because other
housing projects took priority.
Uist Builders - officially known as the UBC group - was a very significant employer
in the Western Isles before it fell into administration with nearly £11.5 million
of debts in May.
Mr Pedrana has a very strong track record of employing island workers and a phased
development of house building would provide vital employment to the local construction
industry which has suffered a raft of redundancies.
Last May, two large building projects in the Hebrides were immediately halted Uist
Builders fell into administration.
Work restarted last in September on a Hebridean Housing Partnership £3.5 million
flagship housing scheme at Gibson Gardens in Stornoway.
Western Isles Council awarded Cal Max the tender to finish building the new Harris
House care home in Tarbert. The half-finished development will cost over £2 million
to complete.