Considering an incentive for young people and families: 50 thousand. pounds for moving to the island

Islands Bond is part of the National Island Plan. The initiative aims to tackle depopulation, a long-standing problem faced by many Scottish island communities. The question is: would that help?

Kevin Morrison moved from Glasgow to South Juista in the Western Isles five years ago. According to an employee at the community sports center, £ 50,000 would have gone a long way toward saving the family home.

Explaining why he moved to the islands, Kevin said on BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland: “My wife is from South Justus. When we were planning to have a family, we discussed the possibility of moving to the islands. “

Following that decision, the couple had to quit their full-time jobs. Kevin didn’t work part time at South Juist.

“We took a chance and we didn’t regret it,” Kevin said. But he admits that it was a real challenge to find a place to live and that they were simply lucky enough to buy the house privately.

Kevin commented on the £ 50,000 incentive as follows: “It would certainly be very convenient for us at the time. The main challenges facing island communities are access to the islands and housing. “

According to the BBC, the Scottish government intends to launch the Islands Bond initiative next year offering 100 bonds for £ 5 million. pound sterling.

According to Iain Stephen Morrison, editor of the Western Isles Am Pàipear News and Information Service, the money could be spent on improving infrastructure or transportation or creating jobs to make it possible to buy land with an affordable house.

“It seems to me that I understand how and why such an idea was born, but frankly, it doesn’t fascinate me too much. In my opinion, it will have a fairly limited impact, “he said.

Scotland has over 90 inhabited islands and entire communities are scattered across areas such as the West Isles, the Highlands, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands, Argyll and Bute.

“Scotland has a lot of islands, there will be competition, so we have to take that into account in the future,” said Iain Stephen.

He added: “There is no shortage of demand among people who want to relocate to the islands. All that is lacking are opportunities, whether it be housing or work ”.

The consultation, which will discuss the details of the plan’s implementation, will run until October 24.
According to the Islands secretary, Mairi Gougeon, the bonds could help the government meet some of its commitments in the Islands National Plan.

“It is a way to draw the attention of people who want to live on our islands about some of the most important financial obstacles,” he said. “I urge the people of Scotland, especially those of our islands, to respond to this inquiry and make sure their voice is heard.”