PEOPLE could be offered up to £50,000 to stay on or move to some of Scotland’s remote island communities under plans announced in the SNP manifesto.
This “Island Bond” will be available to 100 young people or families who are considering a move to or away from communities currently threatened by depopulation.
The money is meant to “support people to buy homes, start businesses and otherwise make their lives for the long term in these communities”, according to the SNP manifesto.
Released on Thursday, the party’s election document says the bonds will come alongside a “specific” £30 million scheme, over five years, to invest in the islands’ infrastructure and green recovery.
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The SNP also pledge to give local authorities the powers needed to control the number of second homes in their area in order to further safeguard these remote Scots communities.
On top of this, they promise to deliver an Islands Connectivity Plan to replace the current Ferries Plan looking at aviation, ferries and fixed links, connecting and onward travel.
At the time of the 2011 census, there were 93 inhabited islands in Scotland. Some 103,700 people were found to live on these islands, an increase of more than 4000 from the previous census in 2001.
The SNP’s Na h-Eileanan an Iar candidate, Alasdair Allan, told the Press and Journal: “We already knew they were vulnerable to the negative impacts of Brexit, but the Covid-19 pandemic brought into sharp focus some of the very real challenges those communities face.
“Anything we can do to reverse the depopulation trend in Scotland and encourage more people to live and work in island communities should be encouraged, especially in the face of a damaging Tory Brexit.”
READ MORE: Tory ministers plan 'Project Love' to stop Scottish independence
Other plans for Scottish island communities in the SNP manifesto include an extension of the Islands Passport scheme. The party say this will work to promote “more off season visiting and creating more equitable benefit for communities”.
They also pledge to, over the next parliamentary term, work with at least three islands “to enable them to become fully carbon neutral by 2040”.
These carbon neutral islands, the SNP say, will be the “vanguard of reaching net zero emissions targets by 2045”.
This would include pilots for some islands to run on 100% renewable energy, to create circular economies tackling and processing waste and exploring more sustainable transport options.
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