Some thoughts on how we can retain more young folk in the south of Scotland. In an age where car ownership is again becoming a luxury for the young, perhaps we need to re-visit the public transport infrastructure. I doubt it will bring back the Port Road or a railway through Newcastleton but maybe we need some kind of new public transport settlement for the 21st Century.
The South of Scotland is big, beautiful and it’s dying, or at least it’s age profile suggests that it’s heading that way.
Borderlands – Our Future a report on issues facing the South of Scotland (defined as the UK parliamentary constituencies of Dumfries and Galloway; Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale and Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) published this week by the Westminster Scottish Affairs Committee highlights some of the issues: an ageing population, poorly paid jobs and poor infrastructure. It examines the problems facing the region, and comes up with some solutions which go in the right direction, but don’t seem to provide the step changes to which are really needed to revitalise the region.
Compared to the Scotland overall the population in the South of Scotland is older, and in particular there is a dearth of people aged 16 – 44 while over a quarter of the population are over 60. This…
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Max Stafford's Kennel 
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