Trial the Isles: How Scottish islands are fighting the scourge of of depopulation

For Lindsay Robertson, moving from the mainland to South Uist was an easy decision to make.

In 2022, she packed up the last of her most precious cargo - her Highland Pony Boe - and boarded the ferry to join her partner on his croft at Loch Skipport. Since then, they have started an agritourism business and welcomed two children into the world, Cara, three, and Ewan, seven months. She has “done her bit” for island repopulation, she says.

For Ms Robertson, a professional photographer originally from Moray, South Uist was the place where she and her partner, islander DJ Cameron, could pursue their vision for a flourishing business rooted in the land and happy home life.

Lochmaddy in North Uist. A highly-localised project is tackling depopulation across Uist and promoting the islands as, not remote or isolated, but a place of opportunity and great quality of life. PIC: Getty Images/iStockphoto | Getty Images/iStockphoto

They have had “great support” in making that happen, both from the community and public agencies who have supported their business Long Island Retreats, which takes visitors on a field-to-fork journey through crofting, its history and culture and sells local produce in their farm shop.

They will, most likely, be in South Uist forever more - and are exactly the type of people Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) wants to attract on its ‘Trial the Isles’ programme, which is due to give young families a chance to rent a house to test out island life.

Lindsay Robertson and daughter Cara, residents of South Uist. | Lindsay Robertson

Ms Robertson said: “I think it is a lovely place to raise a family. The outdoor playground that kids have here is second to none. I think there is a level of safety here that is probably something of days-gone-by on the mainland now. There is a very good network in terms of groups and activities for kids to be part of. It is small classes, tight-knit groups of friends.

“There are numerous good points to moving, but there are challenges for people moving here for the first time, maybe those who have come in the summer and seen it through rose-tinted glasses if the weather has been beautiful. You have to have an open mind.

“We always say if people make it through two winters, they are probably going to stay.

“There was a couple from London who had a wee kid the same age as Cara and they have literally just left. They were here maybe two years and they both said to each other in January ‘no, let’s go’.”

The ‘Trial the Isles’ scheme is part of the Uist Repopulation Action Zone, an initiative designed to address “acute” depopulation, which, since the 1960s, has been steadily driven by people heading to the mainland for education and work.

As part of the plan, the islands are being promoted as, not remote and isolated, but for their opportunities - particularly in the digital age - as well as quality of life and Gaelic culture.

But those who want to relocate struggle to find homes in a place where only 6 per cent of properties are available for private rent. Young islanders who want to stay struggle to get a roof over their head as housing stock shrinks and the market heats up beyond the reach of local wages as new residents arrive seeking an island idyll or second home. Meanwhile, cuts to grants to do up croft houses have shrunk.

Four council-owned properties at Balivanich in Benbecula, which were latterly used as business units, are now being converted into homes ahead of the Trial the Isles scheme, with priority for leases given to young parents who are employed or have a business.

It is hoped those who take up a place will stay for the long term as demographic forecasts continue to deeply challenge.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) predicts the population of the Western Isles will drop by just over 4,000 people by 2043 to 22,709 - a decline of 16 per cent. The figure for Scotland over the same time period is an increase of 2.5 per cent.

In the Western Isles, the higher level of older people and the lower birth rate is driving the figures.

While net migration is rising in the islands - 170 more people came than left in 2022 - it is not enough to offset the powerful natural cycle. To do that, a “significant” influx of young families is required to up the birth rate.

The major barriers to repopulating Uist - and the islands more generally - have been identified, with housing and childcare - and ferries - sitting at the very top of the list.

While Ms Robertson and her partner are thriving, challenges include the erratic ferry service, but also the cuts to the Benbecula to Stornoway flight that was crucial for attending hospital appointments, she said.

“Sometimes it feels like you are going backwards instead of forward,” she said.

For Ms Robertson, the issue of childcare has to be addressed before repopulation can succeed.

“I couldn’t get a childcare space for Cara until she was two,” she said. “There are very limited spaces throughout the Southern Isles for the under threes. At the nursery, they have two staff and they can have six children. There is a waiting list for every single place.

“I am lucky because myself and DJ are self-employed and could juggle around if I was going to the mainland to work. I did at times have to fly my mum across from the mainland to help out.

“Childcare is a huge issue. If you have people from island but cannot get childcare to get back to work, that is a reason for depopulation. We are never going to attract young families here if our childcare here isn’t able to work.

“We should be focusing on retention over repopulation and that is about addressing the challenges that we have first and foremost. We have a lot of skilled people on the island who move away so rather than looking at people trialling the isles, is it not just about keeping people that we have by addressing things like childcare?”

She said a “potential route to success” could be attracting back those with island roots.

Ms Robertson added: “There are so many examples of people who have returned back to the islands and who have boosted the population and will stay. They know the challenges of island life. To me, that is the potential route to success.

“There of course will be people not from the islands who will make it a success, but you have to come with a certain mindset and maybe a certain lifestyle too. If you like a simple life, you can really embrace island life.”

Leader of Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, Councillor Paul Steele, said attracting the diaspora back to the islands was an important part of the repopulation plan.

He said: “That is a demographic that we are really keen to attract back. They are used to island living. If you have the background of living on the isles, I think it helps.”

Councillor Paul Steele, leader of Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) | Contributed

By September, the council’s settlement officer received and advised on 319 enquiries from those wishing to move to the islands and has supported 26 relocations since May 2022.

Community feedback on the draft plan of Uist Repopulation Action Zone cited problems with ferries as a major issue. People knew of families who were planning to return to the mainland as they were anxious about “being stuck on the rock”.

Public sector employers, such as council and Scottish Government, should locate more staff on Uist, it was also suggested, as was an Island Trades Training Scheme to boost skills, support housing needs and tackle a shortage of tradespeople while retaining young islanders.

Crucially, the working age population on the islands is set to fall by 6 per cent by 2028 if current trends continue. While people may have been offered jobs, there can nowhere for them to live.

Meanwhile, the number of over-75s with the greatest levels of co-morbidity is set to rise by 25 per cent.

Councillor Steele said: “As a council, we have workforce demands. Social care is an area we want to develop. But there are a lot of opportunities coming up over the next wee while in science and technology and engineering.”

Those are being driven by the development of Spaceport 1, which is being built on council land at Scolpaig in North Uist amid widespread objections locally. Site works are due to begin later this year, with the first launches due in “the next year or two”.

Cllr Steele said: “The spaceport development is going ahead. There is a chance for people to set up businesses in science and technology and engineering, those kind of areas, but should they want to come up at the moment, they are going to find it hard to find a place to live.”

Cllr Steele said it was essential to get greater flexibility on how the council could spend its housing budget from the Scottish Government to create the number of houses required. In Benbecula alone, there are more than 40 people people on the housing list at Hebridean Housing Partnership.

He said: “We can only spend the funding allocated to us by the Government through the registered social landlord, the Hebridean Housing Partnership. There was a grant figure of £90,000 per house from the Government and then the housing partnership has to go to the bank to get that match funding.

“But because it costs so much to build in the islands, it was going up to £120,000 to build in Barra and £110,000 in Uist. If the grant was £90,000, they would have to find the rest.

“Every time you went to do a housing scheme, you would have to go to the Scottish Government and plead your case for more money.

“This process would go on and on and, fair play, they would usually give you the extra money. But there are a lot of schemes we have not been able to do as they were unaffordable and we don’t have the flexibility in funding.

“We were allocated roughly around £45 million. So instead of building £45m worth of housing, we can only build what we can afford if we get the match funding.

“And the cost of materials given Brexit and so forth, well it is coming in at around a quarter of a million for a two-bedroom house.”

“In Uist, the cafes and the bars were shut in the morning as they didn’t have the staff and that is directly linked to people not having a place to stay. That is another area where Trial the Isles might help. It could be seasonal, short-term work that people might come and try.”

Mary Schmoller, 73, of South Uist, was raised on the islands and, like almost everyone of her age group, left to pursue her education and career. She returned permanently to built a house 20 years ago.

For her, travel challenges remain the key issue.

She said: “Nobody can make a proper plan. We have lives that we need to live as normal. Just because we live here doesn’t mean we don’t engage in the wider world . We always have. I am in my 70s and quite frankly the services were better when I was a child than they are now.”

Mary Schmoller

Ms Schmoller, a former chair of community landowner Stòras Uibhist, said she had “no regrets at all” about moving back.

She said: “You have to have a certain character to live here. You have to be physically robust because when the wind and the gales blow, if you are not physically robust, you can’t get out the door.

“I love the land and I will stay here, but I suppose logically, if I live long, long, long I might not be able to. It is the wind. You can’t get in and out of the car, If I am fit and well enough, I will stay, but I might have to go back to Sussex, where I can walk upright. That is the reality.”