Argyll and Bute councillors work to tackle population decline as report predicts further decreases

Council officers are working to tackle the population decline in Argyll and Bute – after reports continued to predict a decrease in the area over the coming years.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) population estimates for 2024 stated that the area had the smallest population of 0-15 year-olds at 13.89%.

They also said that 27.73% of the population were classed as older people, with the statistics questioned by a councillor.

The discussion took place at a meeting of the council’s environment, development and infrastructure committee on Thursday, March 19.

In a report before the meeting, executive director Kirsty Flanagan said: “Sub-national population projections by the NRS are based on the NRS 2022 mid-year population estimates.

“They project that between 2022 and 2032 Argyll and Bute’s population will decline by 0.8%. The data provided shows that this projection is due to ‘natural change’ outweighing ‘net migration’.

“This is in comparison to the NRS subnational population projections published in 2020, which used NRS 2018 mid-year population estimates to project that by mid-2028, Argyll and Bute’s population would decline by 5.9%.”

Councillor Tommy MacPherson (Independent, South Kintyre) said: “There is an overall prediction of a 6% decline in the council area population by mid-2028. What can we do to reverse this?

“What are the factors that are seeing young couples and working individuals not staying? Is it housing, economy, or the attraction of higher wages?

“What can you tell us at this stage, because come another year, we will see another population decrease in under-15s and an increase in over-65s, and 2028 is not that far away.”

Ishabel Bremner, the council’s economic development manager, responded: “It is a mix of issues. There is an issue around housing, but also if a family moves and one person has a job but their spouse or partner also gets one.

“We are doing a lot with the employability issue in terms of colleges offering courses which are relevant to job opportunities.

“We need to continue to focus on attracting people. We are doing that, but we need people who are young and active and generate their own business.

“I wish I had a crystal ball on how we can tackle these. We have been revising our economic strategy action plan which will be in front of members in due course.”