Young islanders share their views on housing

Since 2022 young people from across Scotland’s islands have highlighted to Young Islanders Network (YIN) what is important to them in their island community.

The top two recurring issues have been Transport and Housing.

This year YIN created a challenge for young islanders, inviting young people from the Scottish Islands between the ages of 12-25 years old to take part in a survey, through a short online form.

The survey asked 11 questions with a mixture of multiple choice and open-ended questions. In total 223 young people took part from across Shetland, Orkney, Western Isles, Skye, Tiree, Mull, Colonsay, Island and Jura, Bute, Arran, Cumbrae and Lismore.

Some of the key issues which are highlighted in the report, include concerns that young people find it difficult to afford to live where they want to live, often due to the impact of second homes and holiday lets on the local housing market or availability of affordable private lets. There are also concerns about the waiting times for social housing and the quality of housing.

Housing was not the raised as a stand-alone issue, as it was highlighted that cost of living, transport links, connectivity and employment opportunities are also important to young people when considering where they live.

One of the starkest statistics from the report highlighted that 72% of the young people who responded think that they will need to leave the island where they live when they are older due to a lack of available or suitable housing. When discussing population retention and attraction, looking further into potential rational behind youth mobility around population, this number is concerning for the future of our islands.

Young people who have completed the YIN Housing Challenge survey have clearly identified issues that are of concern to them.

YIN hope that that the survey report will be informative and insightful to decision makers and help inform policy and budgetary decisions so that positive change can be made for young people to live in their island communities now and in the future.

The YIN is a Scottish Government funded youth work programme, devised and delivered by Youth Scotland, the national charity for community-based youth work. Delivered in partnership with Scottish Government and the National Islands Plan, the Young Islanders Network (YIN) aims to build a network and community for young people to play a meaningful part in making the National Islands Plan work for young islanders.

You can read the full report at YIN-Housing-Challenge-Report-2024.pdf