CONCERN has been expressed over a report for the Scottish Government on how depopulation can be tackled on Scottish islands.

While the research by Scotland’s Rural College on how the issue is addressed on Japanese islands is described as “valuable”, there are worries that parts of it could be used to justify letting island communities “sink or swim”.

Rhoda Meek, founder of Isle Develop Community Interest Company, said elements of the report “made her blood run cold” as they could be used to support inaction on crucial issues.

Particularly worrying, she said, was how the report highlighted debates in Japan around whether the revitalisation of remote rural communities is possible or even “desirable” in the context of climate-change targets, Japan’s continuing low birth rate, “out-migration” and population ageing.

“That certainly doesn’t allay my fear that elements of this report could be used to justify a future policy of letting island communities sink or swim, something many communities already feel is happening,” she said.

Meek added that she was also worried by a reference to Japan’s concentration on “softer” tourism-led projects rather than infrastructure projects, which she said might be used in future to justify a lack of infrastructure investment on Scottish islands.

“We need to recognise that these soft approaches in Japan come on top of a long-term policy of infrastructure investment and look at the differences in baseline infrastructure between the two countries at present,” she said.

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“Infrastructure projects and investment in housing, education and our existing population is needed if we are to attract the immigration which is mentioned and retain it.”

Meek said her understanding was that depopulation is so severe on many Japanese islands that finding accommodation is not an issue for people wishing to move to them.

“We need to recognise that this is one of the biggest differences between Scotland and Japan and something which needs addressed before many of the learnings can be truly considered,” she said.

Meek added that while the report’s reference to Japanese “housing banks” that list unoccupied houses for would-be buyers was a “nice idea”, it wasn’t appropriate for Scottish islands. Unlike Japan, most empty houses on the isles are not abandoned, she pointed out, but owned by people living elsewhere and often deliberately empty.

“That desperately needs addressed by this government and there are absolutely measures that could be taken now, with existing powers, to tackle this issue,” said Meek.

“The things which often lose us people are infrastructure – including transport, housing, communication technology, services and schools. They are the same things which often make it hard to retain in-migrants.”

Martainn Mac a’ Bhaillidh, of Gaelic campaign group Misneachd, echoed Meek’s concerns.

“The Scottish Government seem to be tying themselves in knots to avoid acknowledging what people in the islands are telling them they need,” he said. “They seem convinced they need to re-people the islands with people from elsewhere, bribed and coaxed into moving, rather than addressing the structural and economic issues leading to depopulation – jobs, housing and infrastructure!

They are correct that infrastructure should not necessarily mean bridges or tunnels, but it should mean roads, ports, ferries and broadband.

“What we need is a ferry fleet fit for purpose and good rural broadband connectivity. We need the Government to invest in industry and job creation in the islands, we need them to move high-salaried jobs to the islands and to regulate the housing market.”

A spokesperson for SkyeConnect, the destination management organisation for Skye and Raasay, said the common denominator between island communities in Japan and Scotland was “the failure of the open market conditions to tackle the housing shortage”.

“This is a mixture of historical and current socio-economic issues,” said the spokesperson. “We would note that while both locations have housing issues, inheritance laws and local belief systems in Japan create a slightly different environment.

“The issue of vacant or abandoned properties was certainly an issue on the islands here 40 or 50 years ago but economic growth and a pattern of inward migration has helped address that problem.

“It is encouraging to see that the Crofting Commission is continuing that work by identifying absentee or negligent crofters which should result in more land becoming available for both indigenous islanders and those who choose to move here to be economically active.”

A spokesperson for Scotland’s Rural College said: “The research team was not trying to argue that depopulation is desirable.

“No matter which country we are studying, people are absolutely critical to social cohesion and vibrancy, new business formation, land management, etc in rural and island communities.

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“We simply highlighted prominent debates in Japan which embed questions about how realistic it would be to achieve repopulation in all rural and island communities, particularly when Japan’s overall population is still in decline – a situation different to Scotland – and in the context of ambitious net-zero targets.

“The Covid-19 pandemic potentially offers new opportunities for rural and island population growth in many countries as people can increasingly work in a hybrid way – or using Japan’s term, parallel work – and therefore can relocate away from urban centres.”

She added: “There is evidence from Japan that infrastructure projects have been hugely successful but have also brought a number of challenges particularly in terms of their impact on the landscape and environment.

“It is true that there has been a shift in Japan towards approaches that are more holistic and place-based, and which recognise that building on local assets and resources is critical, but infrastructure is still a key aspect of many policies and initiatives in Japan, eg in terms of improving digital and transport connectivity.

“Rural/island housing (supply and affordability) is one of the key differences that we found between Japan and Scotland, and we recognise that it is such an important issue in Scotland’s rural and island communities, as has been highlighted here.”