Rural Scotland People, Prosperity and Partnership
THE PATTERN OF RURAL LIFEIn the first part of this chapter, drawing on "Scottish Rural Life"6 and research conducted by The Scottish Office and others, we attempt to describe the distinctive pattern of rural life in Scotland. This overview of rural life is drawn from research commissioned by The Scottish Office and by others, such as the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and Rural Forum. Later we set out the policies and initiatives which impact on the social aspects of Scottish rural communities, economic issues and our policies to improve the competitiveness of rural Scotland.
The Rural Population of ScotlandMost people know when they are in a rural area. For some purposes, however, it is useful to have a definition and we have so far used one (often called the Randall definition) which defines as rural those local authority districts which have a population density of less than 100 persons per sq. km. Such districts account for 90% of Scotland's land and are home to just less than a third of its population. However, there is as much variation in the distribution and characteristics of the rural population as there is in its landscape and land uses. Population density varies widely from 2 persons to each square kilometre in Sutherland to 96 in North East Fife. In contrast, the population density in the new council areas of Edinburgh and Glasgow exceeds 1000 persons per sq. km. While most rural Scottish people live within villages or other small settlements, fewer than 10% live in housing scattered in the countryside. One in twenty of the Scottish population lives in settlements whose population lies between 500 and 2,000. But even here there is wide variation. For example, in Skye and Lochalsh, two-thirds of the population live in settlements of fewer than 500 people whereas in Kyle and Carrick the equivalent figure is one-tenth. Between 1981 and 1991, there was a trend in some districts towards people concentrating in slightly larger villages rather than spreading more widely across the countryside.
Scotland contains some of the remotest parts of the United Kingdom and Europe. In "Scottish Rural Life" we published maps showing how long it took to reach a major service centre of 30,000 people or more. These showed that some one third of the population of rural Scotland live beyond a one hour drive and 11% have to drive more than two hours to reach such a centre.
The way in which the population is changingIn 1942 the Scott Report was concerned about the movement of people to the city. After declining in the early years of the century, in the 1960s many rural districts experienced a period of rapid population growth. Between 1971 and 1981 the rural population increased by 8% and this continued, more slowly, through to 1991. Much of the rise in population in the 1970's and 1980's was associated with the growth in the oil industry in the north and north-east of Scotland. Districts in the north east experienced the largest increases in population, some experiencing growth of over 20%. Whilst most of this increase can be attributed to in-migration, in these districts there was a significant increase in population because of more births than deaths. Other areas saw a population fall, such as Shetland, the Western Isles, Cumnock and Doon Valley and Caithness as people moved away and the population aged. The proportion of people aged over 65 compared to those under 14, has also increased in most rural districts. These broad trends look set to continue into the early years of the next century. People moving into rural areas often compensate for the changes in the local population. In recent years all rural districts have experienced a net in-flow of population, although the presence of large towns in some of them may mean that this is more of an urban effect than one relating directly to rural areas. Employment opportunities are a key factor although in some parts of rural Scotland the scenic attractiveness of an area is the draw rather than the strength of the local economy. Rural Scotland has a higher than average proportion of in-migrants who are retired and these come mostly from elsewhere in Scotland. People coming from outside Scotland tend to take up residence in areas neighbouring the border and in Orkney and Shetland.
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