Council welcomes student accommodation funding

Orkney Islands Council has welcomed a funding award from the Scottish Government which will allow them to move forward with plans to increase the availability of student accommodation in Orkney.

The funding will go towards the purchase and renovation of existing properties, rather than any new build, providing an additional four bed spaces to be let to students attending UHI Orkney.

The £346,200 funding award has come from the Islands Programme Fund – which helps to implement the strategic objectives of the National Islands Plan and is delivered in partnership with local government and open to applications from the six island local authorities

To date, more than 88 locally-led projects on 55 islands across Scotland have been supported in the first 5 years of the programme.

Additional funding for the project will come from the Council’s Place-Based Investment Fund, with another funding source awaiting further confirmation

The Council already provides six other student accommodation bed spaces in Orkney – managed through Orkney Islands Property Development Ltd - bringing the total available to 10.

It is hoped the new properties will be available for student accommodation from the start of the 2026/27 academic year.

Councillor Gwenda Shearer, Chair of the Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, said: "I am delighted that the Council has been awarded this funding from the Scottish Government to support the increase of bed places for UHI Orkney students.

“Council officers are working with representatives from the universities to identify ways in which bed spaces can be increased further.”