Scotland: The deeply divided land

A SIGNIFICANT divide exists between rural areas across Scotland with massive differences in educational opportunities, health provision and population growth, according to a major new report.

Rural areas close to towns and cities have some of the best social and economic indicators in the developed world, boasting higher-than-average wages and educational attainment.

But more remote areas are facing serious challenges from falling and ageing populations, poor economies and access to modern services.

While differences between urban and rural Scotland have long been studied, the report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), paints a picture of deep disparities.

The study, launched yesterday in Edinburgh, concludes that Scotland needs a single, integrated and decentralised body to tackle the problems and opportunities of its rural areas.

The Scottish Government said it was already tackling issues raised in the report, including reducing the number of bodies delivering rural policy and getting those that remain to co-ordinate their work. But opposition parties said the report was a damning indictment on the government's approach to rural policy.

The OECD report defines rural areas as those with fewer than 3,000 people. Accessible areas are within 30 minutes of a centre with a population of at least 10,000; any other area is considered remote. Accessible places include areas around Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee. Remote rural areas include those in the Highlands and islands, and parts of Dumfries and Galloway.

Broadly, Scotland's rural population rose from 19 per cent in 2001 to 21 per cent in 2004. Those moving into accessible areas are mostly professionals, 39 or younger, couples and with one or more child.

On average, accessible rural areas are better off than urban parts – with average household income in 2005 at £22,010, compared with £19,878 in remote areas and £18,867 in the rest of Scotland. Life expectancy is three years higher, cancer and emergency admissions are lower and smoking and drug use are less common.

Remote rural regions generally have lower gross domestic product and a higher proportion of people without qualifications. The report says rural areas include fragile spots, particularly in the periphery and the islands. These are deprived in several ways, including income, employment, skills and health and suffer from inadequate infrastructure, higher costs and lower access to services.

One of the key reasons is the decline of agriculture, which is now dependent on subsidies, with the rural economy now dominated by the services sector, which accounted for 43 per cent of employment in 2004.

It suggests priorities for action should include addressing the shortage of rural housing and tackling the "rigidity" of land-use regulations.

Tourism could provide more employment, but could be hampered by lack of housing for seasonal workers, the impact of visitors on local housing prices and a fear of congestion. There is also scope to expand renewable energy projects through careful siting of wind farms and transmission lines and the use of undersea and underground lines.

The authors say Scotland's approach to rural policy is "innovative and rapidly evolving", but is too centralised. While the £1.6 billion Scottish Rural Development Programme is comprehensive, decisions are taken at national level.

It points out that there are more than 100 agencies involved in rural development, "but there is no single body focusing on rural areas or a comprehensive and distinctive policy for rural areas". It says a concentration on agriculture and environment is "risky" and calls for more funds to help rural businesses.

Hughie Donaldson, co-ordinator of Initiative at the Edge, a project to help the most peripheral areas, said people moving from urban centres into rural areas were driving house prices up and stretching services to breaking point.

John Scott, the Conservatives' rural affairs spokesman, said the report was a "fairly damning indictment" of the government's rural policy.

Mike Rumbles, the Liberal Democrat spokesman, said the government would not bridge the gap between remote and accessible rural areas unless it invested sufficient funds in high-quality infrastructure, such as public transport and broadband.



TWIN CURSES LEAVE ISLANDS BATTLING TO SURVIVE


THE Western Isles provides an example of how remote areas lag behind those rural districts closer to towns and cities, according to the report.

The islands have a low rate of business growth, poor health indicators, net population loss and a GDP per head that is only 60 per cent of the EU average.

Their population declined by about 40 per cent between 1901 and 2001, and last year a study showed more women than men were leaving for the mainland. Forecasters predict the number of women of child-bearing age will fall by 23 per cent by 2019, while there will also be fewer schoolchildren.

Council and business leaders say the twin curses of depopulation and ageing residents must be reversed if the island communities are to survive.

Uig, on Lewis, is an hour's drive from the main town of Stornoway and is considered remote, even in Hebridean terms. Its 400-strong population has been declining and ageing for some time. There were once seven schools, but now there is only one. The area was one of the original locations chosen to be part of "Initiative at the Edge", a government project to address social and economic disadvantages in outlying areas.

Norman Macdonald, the local councillor, said: "People have recognised that, by and large, if they want to continue as a viable community, they are having to do something about it themselves."

A community co-op has bought over a shop and petrol station, and with six workers, it is one of the area's biggest employers. However, the petrol is £1.19 a litre.


THE MOST EXCLUSIVE GLEN IN THE COUNTRY

STRETCHING more than ten miles westwards from the A84 in Stirlingshire, Balquhidder Glen is one of the most attractive parts of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

But the area, named after the Gaelic Baile-chuil-tir meaning "distant farm" is not as isolated or as tranquil as it first appears.

Its location 90 minutes north of Edinburgh makes it a popular tourist destination – perhaps famous as the last resting place of Rob Roy MacGregor – and a very attractive place to live for educated, high-income, high-spending entrepreneurs and business owners.

Only 8.8 per cent of its residents are listed as income-deprived compared to the Scottish average of 13.9 per cent and there is zero unemployment in the two youngest working age groups. The wider area has the third-highest tertiary education attainment rate in Scotland, behind Inverness and Edinburgh, helped by the nearby University of Stirling.

"The quality of life is fantastic," said Richard Harris, a global technology consultant who moved from Surrey. "I have clients around the world who come here to work creatively in an inspiring environment. We have something very special here."

But high demand for housing means the average price of a home is £159,850, compared to Scottish average of £135,769, forcing young locals to rent accommodation or seek cheaper housing in Stirling.

Leslie MacKenzie,producer and director at West Highland Animations, said: "You can't really buy a house here unless you've got lots of money."