Innovative solutions to bring young people back to Rural Scotland

Press Release

Rural business organisation Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) says innovative solutions to the issues that really matter to people in rural areas can reverse the tide of rural de-population.

New research carried out by the Diffley Partnership on behalf of Homes for Scotland, NFU Scotland and Salmon Scotland finds that a perceived lack of well-paid jobs, few affordable homes and patchy public transport are factors contributing to the decline of rural communities in many areas, echoing other research reports published in recent years. This underlines much that has been said by all rural organisations about the key priorities for  people in rural Scotland.

A policy paper published earlier this month by SLE sets out how creative measures such as cost of living offsets, employer incentives for job creation and student loan write-downs could attract more young people to return to, or stay in, rural areas.

Cameron Gillies, head of external affairs for Scottish Land & Estates says a strong rural Scotland means a stronger Scotland for everyone: “The 2,000 rural respondents to this research identified local jobs, followed by housing, followed by public transport as their key priorities. There is a clear consensus about what matters to people and what the key issues are to ensure our rural communities survive and thrive. Other countries facing many of the same challenges have shown that the tide can be turned. Offering incentives for young workers to take up rural jobs, writing off student loans and protecting vital local services with targeted grants are among the policies that have proved successful in other parts of the world. Combining these measures, backed up with long-term investment and a strategic focus on rural communities, will help achieve retention of working-age people and return-migration.”

The Scottish Land & Estates report, Re-populating Rural Scotland, examined policies that have proved effective in countries including Norway, Sweden, Canada, Spain and Ireland. Successful rural communities are those which have increased their working age population, provided affordable homes in rural areas (not holiday homes), rolled out broadband connectivity and improved vacancy-fill rates for key occupations, such as GPs and tradespeople.  Several of the strategies evaluated are readily transferable to rural Scotland.

Cameron Gillies continued: “Taking the evidence from international examples, we have set out clear and concise policy proposals that the Scottish Government can implement in the short, medium and long-term to help reverse the trend of rural de-population. Some of these are already under way – such as the roll-out of broadband and addressing 4G not-spots. We applaud the work that has already been undertaken, as well as the commitment the Scottish Government has shown in its engagement with rural communities. With a more strategic focus, bringing together government, businesses, and the communities themselves, we can deliver lasting change.”