The mum of a family about to welcome its eighth member has launched a petition for her local council and housing association to build bigger homes on the islands.
Jolene Engum, who is due to give birth to her sixth child in a matter of weeks, says things are reaching breaking point in her three-bedroomed family home in Sandveien after the couple were turned down for a four-bedroom property elsewhere in the town.
Over 150 people have signed her online petition, which is called ‘Larger houses to alleviate the overcrowding of working families in Shetland’, and several parents said they are in similar situations.
Shetland Islands Council and Hjaltland Housing Association, who both providing social housing, said in response that there is little demand for larger properties and new developments in the isles mirror these figures by focussing on smaller builds.
The Engums, who are both in employment, said they have two single rooms in their house which aren’t big enough for some of their children.
They have contacted Shetland MSP Tavish Scott and Lerwick councillor Amanda Westlake about their plight.
“The other children are now sleeping in our living room,” Jolene said. “We’ve been told we’re not overcrowded because the front room is classed as a unit, and the babies are classed as half a person.
“There’s nowhere to sit and eat meals together, because the kitchen is so tiny. I believe it’s having an impact on my children’s social skills.
The couple said they had been told by Hjaltland Housing Association that they would be first in line for the next four-bedroom property which came up.
A property at Grodians, in Lerwick, was advertised, but the couple were not successful because they “didn’t have any medical points”, Engum said.
She said: “Not everybody is on benefits, or abusing the system. There are genuine families out there like us who work and are responsible. We can’t afford to private rent. One property we looked into, which would have been ideal, was £2,000 a month.”
Hjaltland Housing Association (HHA) chief executive Bryan Leask said the association currently has a waiting list of 610 people and less than 20 per cent of this relates to three and four bedroom properties.
“With 80 per cent of the demand for smaller homes this is the priority identified for new build within the local housing strategy and as such where council and government support is focused,” Leask said.
HHA plans to build 157 units over the next five years in Shetland and to mirror registered demand, 61 per cent of these will be one-bedroom, while only five per cent will be four-bedroom properties.
An SIC spokesperson said that they were aware of the petition but noted that “demand for larger houses currently accounts for two per cent of waiting list demand across Shetland”.