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29 April 2021

Remote Scottish island with population of 11 is looking for 50 more residents

29 April 2021

A remote Scottish island is on the look-out for residents.

There are no cars and no shops and the population -once reaching the dizzy heights of 606 - currently stands at 11, but they are seeking to add 50 to that number.

Ulva is Scotland’s Inner Hebrides and in 2018, rather than face extinction, the islanders staged a community buy-out and with backing from the Scottish Land Fund are pressing head with a mission to reinvent their way of life.

According to BBC Travel, ‘abandoned properties will be renovated, new communities will be resettled in affordable housing and a kind of sustainable Scots utopia will be created. The opening of a cultural heritage centre with far-reaching global appeal is on the horizon, too’.

Lifelong resident of nearby Mull island, Colin Morrison, told the BBC: “To get on in life you traditionally had to leave an island like this, and Ulva’s story reflects those of Scottish islands in general.

“Fifty years ago, communities were sustained by farming and that lifestyle is just not there anymore – so now we envisage a different future driven by tourism and the digital economy.”

And just in case you’re interested, but nervous at being cut off from the ‘real’ world, the island surprisingly has 4G, broadband, Netflix and Amazon.

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