Aileen Stockdale

The repopulation of rural Scotland: opportunity and threat

Abstract This paper examines the demographic and economic impacts associated with the repopulation of rural Scotland. It incorporates data obtained from a household survey and qualitative interviews. Possible threats include increased competition in all housing sectors and changes in the composition of rural communities. It is argued that these changes are not solely caused by in-migration, but that in-migration is itself a product of national and global advancement. Any assessment of migration impacts needs to be viewed within the context of rural restructuring — a view which is taken in this analysis. Using this approach it is concluded that rural in-migration is associated with many opportunities (employment creation and prospects for increased rural expenditure). However, these economic opportunities have yet to be fully realised for the benefit of rural Scotland.

Out–migration from rural Scotland: The importance of family and social networks

Out-Migration from Rural Scotland: The Importance of Family and Social Networks Out-migration from Rural Scotland: The importance of family and social networks The decision-making processes involved at various stages in the out-migration of individuals from remote parts of rural Scotland are examined. Some two hundred migrants, now residing throughout the United Kingdom, were traced using a variety of means. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were incorporated so that the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches complement and counterbalance each other. The investigation focuses on the changing role of family and other networks at each stage. It is found that there is a general expectation and acceptance of the need for young adults to leave rural areas. Initially, individual migrants benefit from the role of immediate or extended family and social networks, although the individual is not always conscious of their role. With time away from the home area these networks decline in importance, only to re-emerge later in life. At this stage the individual is more likely to be a benefactor than a beneficiary in the process.

The labour-market impact of migration to rural areas

Abstract An economic audit of the labour-market impact of in-migration to rural Scotland provides evidence that migrants make rather than take jobs. A survey of 689 households in six study areas selected from across rural Scotland provides the basis for examining the scale and nature of job growth associated with in-migration. Job multipliers are calculated by migrant type and by economic sector.

In what sense English? an exploration of English migrant identities and identification

The empirical focus of this article is an analysis of the self‐identities of English‐born persons living in urban Scotland. The material is theorised relative to the debate between modernist conceptions of identity and post‐structuralist notions of identification. The researchers construct a fourfold typology of ‘English’ migrants that helps to problematise the nature and diverse meanings of ‘Englishness’. The search to understand why many English migrants avoid the ‘English’ label in statements of self‐identity leads to consideration of work on neo‐tribes and problems of identification in fluid societies. A secondary, but also important, aspect of the paper is the exploration of ‘accent’ as a marker of ‘identity’. This proves important in bounding the English service class in Scotland, otherwise an invisible migrant population.

English migrants in the Scottish countryside: Opportunities for rural Scotland?

Abstract This analysis incorporates data from a detailed household survey investigating the impacts of migration in rural Scotland. Migrants of English‐origin account for one in five of the total sample and were most frequently observed in Northern Scotland. Many had moved as part of Scotlands internal migration system and were motivated by quality of life considerations. The findings suggest that English migrants are revitalising ailing rural demographic structures, but in economic and social terms they are very similar to Scottish incomers. If there is an issue regarding migration to rural Scotland it is suggested that this relates to all incomers irrespective of their origin and not solely the English.

The structuring of service class migration: English Migration to Scottish Cities

The paper explores the mobility implications of internationalisation and commercialisation of the service class. Theorisation of the survey points to five main issues: first, the role of migration of service workers as part of a network of flows linking the core of the state with regional economies; secondly, the disproportionate concentration of service-class migration in one particular city within a regional economy; thirdly, the inadequacy of a nested hierarchical model of service-class migration; fourthly, the functional disconnection of local service employment from the circuits of movement of new service-class migrants; and, finally, the necessity of professional transient migration for the successful economic performance of the wider regional economy. The study is based on analysis of English migrants living in four Scottish urban areas.

Changing land tenure patterns in Scotland: A time for reform?

Abstract Land tenure patterns throughout Britain have changed significantly. The popularity of the traditional agricultural tenancy has declined and in response to legislative and policy developments landowners have become reluctant to enter into long-term tenancy arangements with tenants. The result has been a growth in a number of short term leases. In response, legislative reform took place in England and Wales during 1995 and introduced a farm business tenancy. It provides for greater freedom to negotiate individual agreements. However, Scotland has been excluded. This paper illustrates that Scotland has experienced similar changes to those observed elsewhere and that the main short term lease (limited partnership tenancy) currently popular with Scottish landowners is fraught with legal and administrative difficulties. The limited partnership tenancy is not a suitable alternative to the traditional agricultural tenancy and as such there may be a case for the extension of the farm business tenancy to Scotland.

State intervention and the impact on rural mobility flows in Northern Ireland

Abstract The changing distribution of many national populations has attracted considerable academic interest during recent decades. This paper tests the appropriateness of existing explanations in relation to Northern Ireland. In particular, the role of the State and its impact on the decision-making process of individual migrant households is assessed. It suggests that whatever the individual reasons for a change of residence expressed by migrant households, state intervention represents the catalyst for a rural population revival.

Recent trends in urbanisation and rural repopulation in northern Ireland

For some considerable time the principal demographic trend identified within Northern Ireland has related almost exclusively to the deconcentration of population out of Belfast into neighbouring districts. Unfortunately, little direct attention has been devoted to changes occurring further down the settlement hierarchy and indeed within essentially rural environments. Thus, despite, considerable investigation into the emerging rural trends in other parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland, little is known of the changing patterns within Northern Ireland in recent years. This paper intends to review such changes. Importantly, while rural repopulation, rural rejuvenation or counterurbanisation trends elsewhere have been associated with urban or metropolitan population decline and, accordingly, a weakening of the urbanisation process, evidence from Northern Ireland suggests that both processes can occur simultaneously.

Towards a multi-purpose model for the proposed Mourne National Park

The introduction of a national park in Northern Ireland has recently moved a step closer with the proposed designation of the Mourne Mountains. Nevertheless local stakeholders remain divided as to the need for a national park, and controversy continues as to the likely impacts of a Park for local landowners, users and communities. To date, not only has the Northern Ireland Assembly failed to respond to a Report to the Minister but the model of national park to be introduced has not been discussed. In the absence of any such details, landowners, in particular, still fear a restrictive model of national park. Through an evaluation of current challenges for the Mourne area, a review of different national park models, and findings from surveys and interviews conducted with local residents and stakeholders, this paper recommends a sustainable development model.