At the request of Cllr Iain MacNeil, a seminar on housing in Uist and Barra was held on the 14th of November 2019 in Lìonacleit, Benbecula, to re-energise the public sector-led approach and promote cooperation through a new policy framework for the area.
The Uist Collective: Uibhistich Òga, a group formed following CoDeL’s Young Leaders programme in 2019, was asked to set the scene for the day’s discussion. The group, which is exploring means by which they can positively influence several local issues including housing, is keen to resolve the shortage of suitable houses as this is one of the key stumbling blocks inhibiting many people from returning to the island. Continue reading “Contributing to a solution: Housing in Uist”
Conundrums on Population Trends: Happiness, young people, children, jobs
The common perception is that island populations are in decline and that lack of jobs is the key driver behind such decline. On the other hand, surveys reveal that the Highlands and Islands are the best place in Scotland to live and more young people want to stay or settle there, while many island jobs remain unfilled. So what do we make of these apparent contradictions? Continue reading “Conundrums on Population Trends: Happiness, young people, children, jobs”
How island communities are seeking to boost their populations, and succeeding
Lewis & Uist, Mull & Iona, Eigg & Bute, Westray, and Caribbean islands also, show how much island communities are doing to turn around population … through housing, culture, identity, land ownership, social enterprise, young people, jobs, enterprise, island diasporas, integrating refugees …. The posts on the Islands Revival blog keep coming, with more to appear shortly from Harris, Lewis, Kerrera, Colonsay, Barra. Go here to find out more, and also follow us on Twitter @islandsrevival Continue reading “How island communities are seeking to boost their populations, and succeeding”
Turning the Tide on island population
Follow our new blog Islands Revival collecting stories of population turnaround on islands, and identifying ways of supporting such developments through policy and action. We already have three great posts on Uist, Eigg and Mull/Iona. Continue reading “Turning the Tide on island population”
Reversing population decline?
CoDeL presented on its research at the annual gathering of the Scottish Islands Federation in September 2018 on the beautiful island of Tiree. Some island communities are clearly bucking the trend of population decline. Continue reading “Reversing population decline?”
Young People on Uist in the Outer Hebrides
CoDeL’s study of 469 young people on Uist shows a trend of young economically active islanders returning or staying, and young people new to Uist settling on the islands. Just as significant, many of these young people have children. Continue reading “Young People on Uist in the Outer Hebrides”