Rural Scotland People, Prosperity and Partnership

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Key Points on Scottish Rural Life

In this overview of some of the main social and population trends affecting rural communities some key issues have emerged:

• The remoteness and diversity of Scotland's rural communities has implications for the planning and delivery of services.

• Rural communities are diverse.

• Rural Scotland is a popular place to live, as witnessed by the population growth, largely accounted for by in-migration to rural areas.

• Rural areas offer a wide range of benefits and migrants are attracted for a number of reasons, mainly related to employment and the general appeal of the area.

• In-migration has brought benefits where young families have moved into communities and sustained the local school, in other cases there is concern about the impact of affluent migrants on the local housing market.

• Housing and employment in the local area needs to be available for young people.

• Rural communities do not suffer from deprivation to the same extent as urban dwellers, but pockets of disadvantage exist. Local authorities and others have been active in attempting to tackle the problems faced by rural dwellers. Change is an inevitable component of rural life, whether through population movement or changes in employment. Thus the key challenge for rural policy is to develop approaches which are sensitive to the diversity of rural circumstances and changing circumstances faced by rural dwellers.

• Service delivery affects particularly the more remote communities.