James Attwood Memorial Lecture, 13 November 2024: What is the ‘Highland Problem’ of 2024?

6.45 pm for Teas/Coffee. Main event 7.10 pm

Sixty years ago the Highlander was the ‘man on Scotland’s conscience’. Then the solution to the Highland Problem was to induce the movement of labour out of, and not the movement of capital into, the region. Today, there is forecast £110 bn of investment over the next thirty years, the Highland Problem looks somewhat different.

Today’s communities struggle to recruit and retain key workers and services. Long established sectors restrict growth because they can’t recruit. The renewables sector, critical to Scotland’s future economic fortunes, could bring thousands of highly skilled long-term jobs and workers to the Highlands and Islands. But, has nowhere to house them.

If we want our communities to benefit from this massive transformation, we must ensure new people come, and these new people bring their families and stay. So how do we make sure we build the right houses, in the right places, in the right timescales?

The Speaker

Ailsa Raeburn is Chair Community Land Scotland, the national organisation that speaks on behalf of and advocates for community landownership and land reform. She also sits on the Boards of Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Crown Estate Scotland.

Ailsa is passionate about supporting communities to become more resilient and sustainable through the ownership of local land, buildings and natural resources. This includes access to affordable and accessible housing for families and working age people which in many parts of the Highlands and Islands is severely constraining economic and community growth.