Areas of Scotland "acutely" affected by depopulation will share a fund of £180,000 to trial ways of retaining and attracting people to their communities.
The Scottish Government has published an action plan with 83 priorities to tackle depopulation in rural areas including Highland, the Western Isles and Argyll and Bute but acknowledged there is "no quick fix".
The new Addressing Depopulation Fund will initially make £180,000 available initially to the three areas experiencing the biggest challenges.
Rural communities will no longer be designated "remote" by the Scottish Government, which said this entrenched the belief that people need to "get out to get on."
The plan has drawn criticism from opposition politicians that it contains very little new information.
A fund of up to £25 million, announced last year, will allow local authorities and registered social landlords to purchase properties in rural and island areas which can be rented directly or leased to employers to provide affordable homes for key workers.
The new strategy comes after The Herald's recent investigative series examining the reasons why areas of the Highlands and Islands are facing a "population emergency".
A report by Highland Council, following last year's census, warned that areas were being 'drained of people' with Kinlochleven, Mallaig and parts of Sutherland singled out.
There will be an emphasis on “local by default, national by agreement” with government acting as a "facilitator" for councils and agencies such as Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to address challenges in a manner "which best meets local needs".
The government said HIE had a "strong track record" in transformational regional projects including hydro schemes and the development at Dounreay.
Where possible, it will remove remaining barriers for people returning to cleared land.
The proposed Land Reform Bill will introduce new measures to regulate the market in large-scale landholdings, including the introduction of a Public Interest Test.
The Scottish Government said it recognised the historic impact of the Clearances and that many of the scars are still felt in communities but said restoring population profiles to historic levels was not achievable.
It will appoint a new community settlement officer in Inverclyde - which has experienced a 5.6% drop in its population - and extend funding for posts in Argyll and Bute, the Highlands, and Na h-Eileanan Siar.
Reciprocal visits have taken place between Scotland and Aragón in Spain, which has also experienced population decline.
The government said it will be reviewed when new sub-local authority data from Scotland’s Census 2022 becomes available in the Spring.
Local authorities will be required to "clearly demonstrate" that they have considered alternatives to school closures in rural areas.
READ MORE:
'Come and see what we are dealing with': Senior doctor's plea to Health Secretary
Reversing population crisis requires policymakers to 'move heaven and earth'
'I know I'm part of the problem - this is why I left the Highlands'
More efforts will be made by the Crofting Commission to tackle absenteeism.
The Inverness and Highland City Region Deal, signed on 2017, committed funding of £315million over ten years to boost affordable housing and tourism and deliver transport improvements.
The government said the Deal's 12 projects will help rebalance the population of the Highlands, aiming to attract and retain an additional 1,500 young people, and create 1,125 direct jobs and a further 2,200 in construction.
It said two planned freeports will create "high-quality, well-paid new jobs".
The plan includes a commitment to develop both long-term solution and medium-term improvements to the landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful.
The government said it would continue to advocate for a new rural visa pilot, modelled on immigration schemes in Canada.
The projected population change for Scotland is lower than the figure for the UK as a whole.
The population of the UK is projected to grow by 8.0% to mid-2045. If these projections are realised, Scotland’s share of the UK population would fall from 8.1% in mid-2020 to 7.6% by mid-2045.
Inverclyde and Na h-Eileanan Siar are the only councils projected to have more people leaving than arriving.
The government said it will continue to support the ‘Uist Repopulation Zone Action Plan’ based around five critical areas; housing, jobs, infrastructure, Gaelic, and skills. Housing projects in north west Sutherland will be advanced.
Dumfries and Galloway Council will receive £30,000 to research the causes of local population decline, to inform the development of future schemes.
Childcare is described as a "critical issue" in the plan. The government said there is the potential for a pilot project where people are trained to work with children and the elderly in a community where it is difficult to find enough staff for both types of roles.
Launching the plan at the Nevis Centre in Fort William, Migration Minister Emma Roddick said: “This plan cuts right across government – in policy areas including housing, healthcare, transport and education – to help deliver solutions that address the needs of individual areas.
“Local leaders, councils and organisations are the people who know their communities best – that’s why this plan commits to channelling community expertise and backing a range of local-led initiatives.
"This will not only benefit the places leading these projects, but could also generate learnings that can be applied elsewhere."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel