Housing shortage inhibits growth in Fuglafjørður

Fuglafjørður’s Town Council’s goal of reaching a population of 2,500 by 2050 cannot be achieved unless the housing situation improves.

This was the main message at Tuesday night’s conference on the future of Fuglafjørður Municipality.

Despite the current prosperity in areas such as job creation and cultural diversity, the town’s population growth cannot keep up with other municipalities in the area.

One of the main reasons for this is the housing shortage, and the only way to boost the growth is to increase the housing supply, said Mayor Sonni á Horni.

Figures presented at the meeting show that whereas other Eysturoy municipalities have seen a steady population growth over the past decade, Fuglafjørður’s population has decreased by ten people in the past ten years.

Fuglafjørður has the highest relative tax income of all municipalities in the country. The council has invested heavily in the local industry, but the mayor acknowledged that property investments may have been overlooked.

The council’s housing plan has been in the making for years and, according to the mayor, the main obstacle has been the difficulty of keeping prices down.

Translated by prosa.fo