Businesses lead effort to reverse depopulation in the Western Isles

Businesses across Scotland’s island communities are stepping up efforts to reverse depopulation, as new research warns the trend poses a critical threat to the future of the Western Isles.

A recent report by the Scotland’s Rural College found housing shortages, poor connectivity and a lack of employment opportunities are continuing to drive people away from rural island communities.

Known for their breathtaking natural beauty, rugged landscapes and sweeping beaches, the islands of Lewis and Harris offer a lifestyle many residents describe as uniquely special. But the communities are not without their challenges, with migration trends causing increasing concern.

The report found depopulation continues to be fuelled by limited job prospects, housing shortages and weak transport and digital links.

With the population ageing, local businesses are now looking at ways to attract younger people back to island life.

Innes Macdonald, 17, moved back to Stornoway from Glasgow last year after being offered a job locally.

“It is difficult for people, there are fewer jobs and it might feel like there’s less to do,” he told STV News.

“I think it just depends on where you’re looking and what you’re interested in. I mean if people are interested in a big nightlife, maybe this isn’t the place for them. But if people are interested in a genuine community, a slower lifestyle, it’s a nice place to live where people actually care about each other.”

Innes now works at a Gaelic café in Stornoway, where staff hope new opportunities will help encourage more young people to remain on or return to the islands.

Teàrlach Wilson from An Taigh Ceilidh, a Gaelic community and cultural centre, says reconnecting younger generations with local identity is an important part of that effort.

Wilson said: “He (Innes) is really the first generation in his family not to be bilingual or at least somewhat bilingual and I think he’s realising the importance of that and that something has perhaps been taken away from him.

“So, to give him the opportunity to come back to the island and see the value in identity, community.”

Concerns about the shrinking working-age population across the Western Isles have prompted repeated warnings in recent years, particularly around housing shortages.

Plans to address this include new housing developments, with the construction of 42 homes recently approved for Harris.

Dena MacLeod of Hebridean Housing Partnership said: “It’s about housing, services and jobs and that’s what is going to sustain a community and we want to do our part to make that happen.

“We have been working with the communities to do what we can so there is a lot of work going on to support these community and it’s also what the council have made clear in their local council strategy.”

For some residents, returning to the islands has been driven by opportunity. After travelling the world, designer Eilidh Jamieson decided to move home to build her business.

She said: “It was the business that brought me back, I saw that I had an opportunity to make something work.

“I mean how many times do people have an opportunity to make a business and all of my maps were Scottish islands and my audience was Scottish.

“I just realised I had a really big opportunity on the Isle of Lewis and that’s why I stayed. As the years have gone by, I’ve really learnt to love it here again.”

Tourism remains a crucial part of the islands’ economy, providing jobs and supporting local businesses.

The Isle of Harris Distillery has welcomed around 700,000 visitors since opening, helping create employment opportunities for younger residents.

Ron MacEachran said: “Our priority is to provide employment where we can to the island and the team that we have here, if you carve me out of it, is of an average age of 36, which demonstrates the youthfulness of it and the opportunity it’s bringing people.

“It’s not just to stay on the island, it’s also to experience the wider world through travelling with the distillery.”