Two massive workers' camps planned for Stornoway on Isle of Lewis as energy projects gather pace
Energy project are gathering pace - as are plans to house workers who will build them.
Two separate workers’ camps housing hundreds of contractors are proposed for Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis.
The accommodation will support the building of both a wind farm and a major infrastructure project that will transmit renewable energy from the islands to the mainland.
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A workers’ camp for 200 staff has been proposed for land off Willowglen Avenue where modular housing, recreational facilities and a car park will be built for contractors on SSEN Transmission’s large-scale Lewis Substation and Converter Hub to the south-west of the town.
A second camp will be built next door to house contractors working on the 36-turbine Stornoway Wind Farm, which is due to be built on the outskirts of the town by EDF Renewables and ESB.
Stornoway is due for a large influx of workers as the energy projects gather pace. SSEN Transmission lodged its application for the Lewis Hub in March and contractor Balfour Beatty is now in the early stages of planning over the workers’ accommodation. Stornoway windfarm already has planning consent.
READ MORE: Second worker’s camp planned for Scottish island community in ‘threat to peaceful way of life’
SSEN said, as well as the workers’ village, it was looking to renovate other properties and potentially build more housing to accommodate contractors, although no further detail on this was made available.
More than 900 homes and 50 businesses will be contacted by letter about the Balfour Beatty proposals, with several consultation events planned in Stornoway over coming weeks.
Callum Wardrop, SSEN Transmissions's project director for the Lewis Hub, said: “Alongside Balfour Beatty, we are committed to engaging with the local community as we aim to deliver our workforce accommodation in a way that takes account of the views of local people.
“In considering our requirements for workforce accommodation, we have been mindful of our responsibilities to the local community, and the proposed temporary workers’ village will help our contractor meet their accommodation needs, while minimising impact on local housing supply and hotel spaces that are vital to the local tourism sector.
“Meanwhile, SSEN Transmission is actively exploring several other opportunities that are also required to support the delivery of the project. This includes supporting the refurbishment and conversion of existing properties, as well as seeking to contribute to the delivery of permanent new housing in Lewis.”
The workers’ camp for Stornoway comes after two similar schemes were proposed for Skye and another for land near Fort Augustus as SSEN’s major infrastructure programme to upgrade the transmission of renewable electricity from across the Highlands and Islands to the National Grid progresses.
The Lewis Hub project comprises a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) converter station and Alternating Current (AC) substation at Arnish Moor.
This will then be linked to a proposed subsea cable running from Arnish Point near Stornoway to Loch Broom, which will then be linked overground to Beauly.
Campaigners on Lewis have previously spoken about the “mass industrialisation of the island” given the large number of energy projects in the pipeline.
These include the proposed Northland Power wind farm (N4), which could see up to 66 turbines, each 380m (1,246ft) tall, installed three to eight miles from the shore off the west coast of Lewis.
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