Scottish Government depopulation action plan 'an insult to Caithness'
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A 95-page Scottish Government document on tackling depopulation has been condemned as an insult to Caithness – after it emerged that the county doesn't get a single mention.
Two local Highland councillors, Matthew Reiss and Andrew Jarvie, are also unhappy that the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan claims A9 dualling from Perth to Inverness will "unlock the economic potential" of the region while making no reference to the 110-mile section of trunk road from Inverness to Thurso.
The pair outlined a series of points in a joint letter to Scotland's migration minister Emma Roddick, an SNP MSP for Highlands and Islands, after she launched the plan last week.
"You commented that you were 'incredibly excited' about the plan, which is 95 pages long," they wrote. "We, as Caithness councillors, are incredibly disappointed that this vast and difficult-to-understand plan does not appear to contain anywhere the words 'Caithness', 'Wick' or 'Thurso'. Is this an accidental omission?"
Councillor Reiss (Thurso and Northwest Caithness) and Councillor Jarvie (Wick and East Caithness) are part of the five-strong Highland Alliance group of independent councillors on Highland Council.
At the end of last year, a council report warned of "severe population decline" in the far north with the population of Caithness expected to fall by 18 per cent by 2040.
The action plan sets out the Scottish Government’s strategy to support people to live, work and raise families in places affected by depopulation, including the Highlands.
The region is among three – along with Argyll and Bute and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar – set to receive a share of a £180,000 Addressing Depopulation Fund, trialling ways of retaining and attracting people to their communities.
Councillors Reiss and Jarvie told Ms Roddick: "Your plan seems to pin significant hopes that spending £180k over two years across three local authority areas by part-funding three 'community settlement officers' will reduce depopulation – this paltry sum has been met with disbelief and some anger here.
"There is incredulity that the plan seriously thinks removing the word 'remote' from government papers will make a major contribution to solving the problems. Yes, at some levels, this may be a complex challenge, but actually investing in hospitals, modest transport improvements, infrastructure and broadband would be more useful.
"The total failure to refer to the areas in Highland with the worst depopulation renders this plan insulting to people who actually are proud to live in the remoter areas.
"We look forward to receiving your comments on these simple questions and observations. We also urge you to revise this plan, amend the unfortunate omissions and jargon-heavy terminology."
The councillors challenged Ms Roddick on why the plan mentions Scottish Government subsidies for Glasgow to Campbeltown, Tiree and Barra air links yet doesn't refer to the Wick public service obligation.
They asked: "Is it possible the civil servants who wrote this plan were unaware of our county town, which suffers from disadvantages and has a high rate of depopulation?"
They said it was "truly bizarre" that the Inverness to Thurso section of the A9 had been overlooked in the document. "The Thurso and Northwest Caithness ward has the worst predicted depopulation figures in Highland but the well-known problems with this road are not addressed – landslips, flooding, tree falls due to inadequate maintenance, hazardous bends, junctions and so on."
They described the A9 north of the Kessock Bridge is "barely capable of supporting the current demand", let alone the increase that is likely to come with the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport.
Launching the plan in Fort William, Ms Roddick said: “The factors that lead to depopulation are complex and interdependent, and every place is affected differently. This plan cuts right across government – in policy areas including housing, healthcare, transport and education – to help deliver solutions that address the needs of individual areas."
