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Landward episode 3 2026

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People
Transcript
00:01This time, one of the biggest issues facing our fragile rural communities.
00:06Welcome to Landlord.
00:30You've heard the phrase, the people make the place.
00:32Well, that's one of the joys of this job for me.
00:35It's meeting the folk that make rural Scotland special.
00:38But in some areas, people are disappearing from the countryside.
00:44Depopulation is a major threat.
00:46And in this special episode, we'll find out what's happening
00:50and visit the communities fighting against it.
00:54I've come to Arran to meet the doctors who made this island their home.
00:58And here's what else is coming up.
01:02Anne sees the high school that's less than half full.
01:06So in S1 in particular, we've only got three pupils.
01:09We never thought it was going to be easy,
01:11but we didn't think it was going to be quite as hard as it has been either.
01:13Rosie discovers the challenges of a new life on the coast
01:18and the big ideas that might help people stay.
01:22We need land prices dropping and we need house prices dropping
01:25so that local people can actually afford their housing.
01:31But first, here are the basics of depopulation in Scotland.
01:38Depopulation simply means a reduction in the number of people living in an area or country.
01:44It's a global issue, with rural communities around the world both declining and ageing.
01:5014 Scottish council areas are affected.
01:55In contrast, Scotland's cities are growing, mainly because people are moving into them from elsewhere.
02:03Away from the cities, the picture is very different.
02:07The darker areas on the map are predicted to have population declines by 2028.
02:14And although the overall population of Highland Council isn't dropping,
02:19some areas there are deeply affected.
02:23The North West Highlands are believed to be one of the most sparsely populated regions in Europe.
02:29And that's where Anne is now.
02:41This is Coigoch in Wester Ross.
02:45A striking coastal peninsula overlooking the Summer Isles and part of the least populated area of Scotland.
02:55The North West Highlands is estimated to have about 1.6 people per square kilometre.
03:02That's even less than Lapland.
03:04Even it manages to hold people per square kilometre.
03:13In the last 20 years, the population has both declined and aged.
03:19One organisation battling to reverse that trend is the Coigoch Community Development Company,
03:25based in Acheldabui.
03:27Laura Hamlet is their chief executive.
03:31What would you say are the main reasons for depopulation in this area?
03:37Well, the biggest reason is the lack of housing.
03:41That's it.
03:41So often young people will get to the age where they're leaving school or education
03:46and they're looking to strike out into the world and there's nowhere for them to move into.
03:51Nowhere affordable, certainly.
03:53A lot of people will go away for education and training and then get settled somewhere else.
03:58Then it's really difficult, the amount of friction involved in moving back to the community.
04:04So, yeah, I'd say the number one driver is housing.
04:08A lack of jobs was once considered to be a big issue, but Laura thinks that's changed.
04:14There is plenty of economic opportunities.
04:16If you look at the number of vacancies that are advertised and the difficulty recruiting people into vacancies,
04:22it's a constant repeating story among all sectors, whether it's healthcare, private sector, third sector.
04:29Lots of job offers that get made and then people can't take up the offer because there's nowhere to live.
04:35So that's a common story that's repeated constantly.
04:42So why is that?
04:44Well, 17% of the houses in Coigilch are second homes.
04:49That's much higher than the national average.
04:51And locals find it hard to compete with outside buyers.
04:56But the community has plans to build.
05:00To the left of this pile of rubble here, just about where we're starting to walk, there'll be two, well,
05:06semi-detached houses, three bedrooms.
05:08And then beyond that, four in a block flats.
05:12OK.
05:12And then a little way beyond that, a terrace of four houses and they'll all be two or three bedrooms.
05:18The community has planning permission for 10 homes.
05:22Next door, a privately owned hotel is being redeveloped with the promise of more jobs.
05:27But work on the houses hasn't started yet and they won't come cheap.
05:32The typical cost of building in this area is between £300,000 and £400,000 per unit.
05:38Gosh.
05:38So 10 units.
05:40We're looking at maybe £4 million.
05:42Crikey.
05:42Goodness me.
05:43Why is it so expensive?
05:44A number of reasons.
05:47Partly just the situation in the construction industry and with the economy as it is just now.
05:52But also the cost of getting materials out to such a remote rural area.
05:56So yeah, that is just the reality of building in a place like Coyac.
06:03Income from a community owned wind turbine will contribute a little to the cost.
06:08But Laura hopes that most of the cash will come from government funding.
06:12The houses will be rented and there's no shortage of would-be tenants.
06:18We could fill them 10 times over.
06:20I'm absolutely positive.
06:21Yeah, we've done numerous housing needs surveys over the years, over the past 15 years.
06:27Which have all come back with lots of people that are hoping to get something in Coyac.
06:32If you think the population of this area at the moment is 240 people.
06:36Even getting 10 homes in here is going to be radical for our community.
06:39It could keep the school open.
06:41It will keep the services going.
06:42And hopefully this is just the first step in a much bigger plan to get more houses into Coyac and
06:48make our community sustainable.
06:59Around 25 miles south of Akotibui is Ullapul.
07:03Built as a herring fishing community, now a ferry port for the Western Isles and a tourist hotspot.
07:11Rosie's there meeting a couple who've experienced the housing issues of the North West first hand.
07:24Amy Walkingshaw and Dougie Cunningham are taking their daughter Peggy for a toddle.
07:30Dougie is a photographer and an ambulance technician trained in emergency care.
07:36Amy is a textile designer and in 2022 the couple moved from Glasgow to the North West.
07:44What was the plan when you moved up to this part of the world?
07:48It was a change of life. It was a change of pace.
07:51Amy and I have always spent a lot of time in the Highlands.
07:53You know, we can always go back to Glasgow for gigs or to see friends and family.
07:57We wanted the balance of our life to be up here in the communities that we kind of got to
08:01know over the years.
08:03Dougie took an ambulance job based in Loch Inver, an area that the couple loved.
08:09The plan was to start a knitwear business and a family.
08:14How did you find that process when you moved up here? Was it as easy as you thought?
08:19We never thought it was going to be easy, let's be honest.
08:22But we didn't think it was going to be quite as hard as it has been either.
08:25Easily the biggest challenge has been housing.
08:27Finding somewhere permanent to live.
08:29When you're trying to make somewhere your home long term, starting a family, starting a business,
08:33you want to make sure you're secure before you do all that.
08:36And getting somewhere that we could call home was really, really difficult.
08:39Also finding somewhere to put the business, you know, finding premises that we could start it in.
08:43It's been really difficult.
08:45The couple spent two and a half hard years renting less than ideal properties,
08:51including a B&B that was closed for the winter.
08:54But last year, Dougie and Amy finally managed to secure a home in Ullapu and these business premises.
09:08Their knitwear micro factory and shop are finally up and running.
09:16This is some bit of kit, isn't it? Amazing. What is it making?
09:20We're currently making hats.
09:23But now, the couple are experiencing the housing issues as employers.
09:28We are training local staff members for year-round skilled employment.
09:33But to be able to do that, we also need to bring in skilled staff to be able to train
09:39for us
09:39and finding somewhere to house them in the process has been pretty challenging.
09:44And we have graduates that want to come and work with us as well.
09:47And they're young and exactly what we want to be able to bring to the area.
09:54But finding houses for them is tricky.
09:57I know this is a massive question, but what do you feel the answer is to this issue?
10:02It's pretty complex.
10:03One thing would be obviously houses, but it's not that straightforward.
10:10It's the infrastructure to support it.
10:12You can build 100 houses and that is absolutely amazing.
10:15It's what we need.
10:17But putting the weight on a fragile community already and infrastructure of doctors.
10:22Childcare is quite a major one.
10:23Even in Ullapu, there's only two currently, two childbinders in the area.
10:30So you can build houses, but you also need things in place.
10:37Without that, Dougie says, the spiral of a declining and ageing population might just be inevitable.
10:46Everyone talks about population decline, but there's also the fact that the remaining population is becoming a little bit older.
10:52Retirees are great. There's some wonderful people, very active people in the community.
10:56But you need people that are working age that are going to come, keep businesses open, keep the schools open.
11:05It strikes me that Amy and Dougie are exactly the sort of family that rural communities need.
11:11They're creating employment, Dougie's also doing a vital job, and young Peggy will soon bolster the school role.
11:18But the determination that it's taken to get them here, you can see why many opt for an easier option.
11:30In Lamward's 50-year history, the issue of depopulation has come up many times.
11:36It isn't new. This, from the 70s.
11:40There were just as many worries about an ageing population and a changing culture in Skye back in 1976.
11:49Well, we don't get so many of the young staying here, as in my younger days.
11:54There was more young people about. You get one or two, but not many other people.
11:59When I was going to school myself, there were 35 in my own class.
12:03That would put it up to about 120 in the whole school.
12:08But nowadays, there's only about 30 altogether going to school.
12:12What these crofters couldn't foresee is that Skye would become a magnet for tourists,
12:17and it's one of only a few islands where the population has increased.
12:23But schools are still the ultimate barometer of a healthy community.
12:28Families won't stay or move there without one.
12:31And if the local population does start to fall, the school itself may be under threat.
12:37Back on the mainland, Anne's travelled north of Akiltebuie to visit a school at the sharp end of depopulation.
12:47It's 8.45 in the morning and children are heading to classes in the most northerly port on Scotland's west
12:54coast.
12:55With pupils feeding in from three primaries and a catchment of nearly 400 square miles across Sutherland,
13:02you'd think it'd be bustling, but no.
13:06Kinlochbury High School has just 31 pupils in a building designed for 180.
13:15Good morning campus. Hope you're all well and had a good long weekend.
13:18If you have any forms, please return them to the office ASAP. Have a great day. Thank you.
13:24It's the smallest school in Scotland to teach S1 to S6.
13:29There's a teaching staff of nine alongside head teacher John Campbell,
13:34although he also teaches drama and whatever else needs doing.
13:39What would you say the pros and cons are of running a school of this size?
13:43The kids must get quite a lot of individual attention.
13:46They do, but that can be a negative as well.
13:49Obviously in education we want young people to be really active and engaged and part of large groups.
13:58So in our school we've combined S1 and S2 together to make a bigger year group.
14:04So in S1 in particular, we've only got three pupils.
14:08But when they join their cohorts in S2, that then becomes a class of 12.
14:12So that's much more engaging for group work, for tasks, for project work, etc.
14:19So today we're going to help Reverend Andrea with her sheep and we're going to be feeding them.
14:26Aaron, go and tell us what's involved in that process.
14:31Even with such a small role, the school is helping keep the community alive.
14:36Before it was opened in 1995, children were taught in Golsby, boarding in a hostel during the week.
14:43But its remote location means Kinloch Berby High can offer rural skills qualifications other schools can't.
14:51Keep going back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back.
14:55Oh my God.
14:57Of course, the school also has to provide a more traditional academic education.
15:03I've got to make sure that our young people get the exact same opportunities that they would get in Edinburgh
15:09or Glasgow.
15:11So we do things like drama and Spanish and the different sciences.
15:16But I've got to be very creative with our curriculum because of our teaching numbers as well.
15:22From a high of 98 at the turn of the century, the school role is expected to drop to only
15:2828 by the end of the decade.
15:31The pupil parliament here at Kinloch Berby High has its own view on what's driving depopulation.
15:37And it's not that much different from what we've heard earlier in the programme with housing a big concern.
15:45Most of the houses that are here, like quite a few of them are just holiday homes.
15:50Some, like most of the year people aren't in them.
15:53Lack of job opportunities is an issue too.
15:56The whole community was sort of built around fishing.
15:59If you look at pictures in the past, there were like hundreds of boats coming in every year.
16:03And now there's like only a couple that will come in.
16:06And do you think that you would stay here once you finish school or do you think that you would
16:12move away from the area?
16:13Yeah, probably move away. Like for like college or uni.
16:16More experience in the, you know, bigger world, you know.
16:19Yeah. There'll be more jobs.
16:21There's not as many jobs down here because we're like a smaller community.
16:24But like in big cities, there are like lots of businesses and stuff you could join.
16:30But some still want a future in Kinloch Berby.
16:34I feel like there's not as many people staying here nowadays.
16:38I feel like it's good to keep the community going and just like serve the community.
16:42What do you think you'll do here?
16:44Probably crafting.
16:46That's probably the main goal.
16:48But for the children at Kinloch Berby High today, if they do stay, and if they have children,
16:55will there still be a school for them?
16:57Does the projected school role give you cause for concern?
17:01No, it doesn't because we are surviving at the moment with our role of 31.
17:08And the projected school role is going to fluctuate, but it's not going to drop to a level that I
17:14feel
17:15is going to be alarming.
17:17So I'm very optimistic that we'll meet the needs of the local community and we'll meet the needs of the
17:23local pupils.
17:25And our numbers will be what they will be.
17:28And the future of the high school may well determine the fate of the wider community around Kinloch Berby.
17:36In order to attract families to rural parts like these, you need to have good schools.
17:42And without these facilities, communities just simply cannot thrive.
17:50So, what are the solutions to depopulation?
17:54Are the needs meeting two campaigners who think they have some answers?
18:00Kakenzie House and Gardens in East Lothian are looked after by the local community.
18:06It's a kind of management that Dr Josh Doble thinks may be a way forward in the fight against depopulation.
18:14He's from Community Land Scotland, an organisation that campaigns for more community ownership.
18:21Landownership gives power and control to the landowner over what happens on that land.
18:26And, you know, historically we've seen areas of Scotland systematically depopulated,
18:31people forcibly removed to be replaced by extractive economic systems based on sheep or based on deer.
18:39And nowadays we also see private landownership give landowners a huge amount of control over whether housing is built or
18:45not,
18:45whether jobs are provided, and whether communities are sustainable and viable.
18:51At the moment, just under 3% of Scotland's land is owned by the community,
18:56purchases largely funded by the taxpayer.
18:59The communities have often managed to increase their population by building housing,
19:05and Josh has other ideas to boost rural populations.
19:12Controversially, one of the key things that needs to happen is that we need to see a reduction in land
19:17prices
19:17and a reduction in house prices in these more fragile rural areas
19:21in order for houses to be built and houses to come into local ownership.
19:26To reduce house prices, Josh suggests trebling or even quadrupling council tax on second homes,
19:33a policy that would affect homeowners, but also potentially tourist businesses.
19:41Tourism has a huge role to play in the rural economy, but what we can't see and we do not
19:46want to see
19:46is parts of Scotland being hollowed out and turned into kind of, you know, toy towns.
19:52Price of housing in parts of the Highlands and Islands is completely at odds with the salaries that people are
19:57earning,
19:57driven by the tourism industry, driven by second homes.
20:00So we need the state to intervene in that.
20:03We need land prices dropping so land can be bought for housing,
20:05and we need house prices dropping so that local people and people that want to live in those areas
20:10who have reasonable jobs can actually afford their housing.
20:15Josh's views aren't shared by Cameron Gillis from Scottish Land and Estates,
20:20a body which represents many private landowners who, Cameron says, are doing a lot to drive repopulation.
20:30There's actually a huge number of developments ongoing just now in Scotland that private landowners are absolutely at the forefront.
20:36And look, we're not trying to shy away from the fact that we need more land to build more homes,
20:40but if we work with them rather than against them, I think we'll find that we actually find ourselves in
20:45a position
20:46where we find lots more solutions to these challenges.
20:49Cameron has been researching how countries across the globe are tackling depopulation.
20:56Countries like Canada, Norway, Sweden, Ireland and Spain have all been trying some really innovative ways of trying to tackle
21:03this problem.
21:04A recurring theme across all these countries is actually tax incentives and things like student loan write-downs,
21:10these financial incentives to get people to want to live and work in rural communities.
21:15Now we've tried this in Scotland before, but what other countries have done is actually gone out and asked,
21:20what would make you want to move to the countryside to live and work?
21:24So student loan write-downs is something that they've tried in Norway and Canada, and that's been actually really successful.
21:29But how important is dealing with depopulation in Scotland now for the economy and also for safeguarding rural areas in
21:38the future?
21:38I'm glad you used the word economy there, because that's absolutely central to this.
21:43Scotland's economic future is rural without a shadow of a doubt.
21:45Our biggest economic opportunities are in sectors like energy, food and drink,
21:50where our biggest exports are in salmon and whiskey.
21:53And then think about tourism. Tourism is such a huge part of our economy now and it's only growing.
21:58And if we don't have people to drive that part of our economy, we're never going to be able to
22:03help it fill its potential
22:04and actually grow Scotland on the whole.
22:08Cameron and Josh might disagree on the methods, but they are united in their belief that government intervention will be
22:15required in some way.
22:19Back in 2024, the Scottish Government issued an action plan on depopulation.
22:24In it, they stress the need for all organisations and government, both local and national, to work together.
22:33And all the larger parties standing for the Scottish Parliament election have plans to tackle depopulation.
22:41They might want to learn from a scheme that's worked on Arran, where Doogie is now.
22:50Like education and the schools provision we looked at earlier, access to healthcare is another reason why some areas struggle
22:59to keep their population.
23:01But here, one initiative has helped recruit more than half the GPs at the local practice, including the one I'm
23:09about to meet now.
23:10If we can do your blood pressure, okay, and then we'll just see how it is.
23:15Dr Izzy Whisker has just completed a rural fellowship programme, a year-long scheme that aims to give GPs a
23:23taste of country practice.
23:25Right, put your arm down on here for me.
23:27The doctors here will do between five and ten home visits a week, as well as the usual telephone and
23:34clinic appointments.
23:36Perfect. That's all good. Okay. Thank you.
23:39It's a bit of a change from Izzy's previous experience in the Cotswolds.
23:44And what was the attraction of the job?
23:46I wanted somewhere a bit more wild and remote, but also with a bit more connection to patients and a
23:54bit more kind of traditional general practice.
23:58Compared to down south, it's a bit of a machine.
24:01So up here, you've got lots of continuity of care and also you've got beautiful Arran.
24:09And that adds the attraction as well.
24:11Oh, it does. Yeah, absolutely.
24:13Unlike urban GPs, Izzy and her colleagues also cover the local hospital, complete with an A&E department and all
24:21that entails, which can put off some doctors.
24:25It initially concerned me. That's kind of why I wanted to try out the job first.
24:29But actually, it's really great. It just adds a bit of variety to the job.
24:33So rather than just do clinic, you go to the hospital as well.
24:36And I really like that sometimes you can see someone in clinic in the morning and then you're in the
24:40hospital in the afternoon and you're seeing them there.
24:42If they're poorly. So it just it means you get to see them all the way through their journey, which
24:46you don't get anywhere else.
24:49Izzy has now accepted a permanent position here in Arran.
24:54All thanks to the fellowship.
24:56It's an NHS initiative and 12 are available each year with around an 80% success rate in persuading doctors
25:05to relocate.
25:07The fellows are mentored and supported as well as receiving a study budget for courses to prepare them for all
25:14the rural medicine requires.
25:17Izzy's practice partner, Dr Isla Barrow, also came to Arran on a rural fellowship nine years ago.
25:26The island population is a baseline of about 5,500, but it rises up to 25,000 in busy periods.
25:33Arran is only a couple of hours from Glasgow if the ferries are running.
25:37So it's an easier sell than the more remote parts of Scotland where health boards are struggling to recruit.
25:45But even here in Arran, the fellowship has been vital in bringing newcomers across the Firth of Clyde.
25:51For us it's been incredibly important. Six out of the nine of us are fellows and that's how we've recruited
25:58the vast majority of doctors we've had.
26:01Other places have not been so lucky. There is, you know, a lot of pressure on GP jobs across the
26:07country and we're very lucky.
26:09And the fellowship has been crucial in keeping us afloat as a really stable, happy practice.
26:15As the Arran experience shows, the right scheme in the right place can have results.
26:22But as we've seen with the broader picture of depopulation in rural Scotland, there are no quick fixes.
26:30Whoever wins the upcoming election will need to have strategies ready to go.
26:35If we want a vibrant countryside full of life and community, we must hope that they work.
26:42Beautiful but empty is not an appealing future.
26:46And that brings us to the end of this special episode.
26:49Here's what's coming up next time.
26:52Shabazz meets the researcher using drones to keep an eye on Aberdeenshire seals.
26:59Cammy's planting spuds.
27:01Roughly 300,000 potatoes going to do this one little field.
27:05Wow.
27:06And we're not spring lambing this year, we're spring calving.
27:10So how many calves do you expect?
27:12700 odd cows to calves, so we expect 700 odd calves.
27:17Please join us for that and much, much more if you can.
27:20In the meantime, from all the Lambert teams around the country and especially from me here on Arran,
27:26thank you so much for your company.
27:28Bye for now.
27:29Until then.
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