Scottish island looking for new residents to join population of 30

‘We need more families to fill our school,’ says one current community member

The Isle of Rum has said there are spaces open to join its small community (Isle of Rum Community Trust )

A remote Scottish island has appealed for new residents to come and join its community.

The Isle of Rum, which lies off Scotland‘s west coast, has urged people interested to apply to live in new houses being built.

The homes are based in Kinloch, the only village on the remote island, which currently has a population of about 30.

Residents are hoping they may see families with young children move to the small community on the island just south of the Isle of Skye.

“We have a population of around 32 people, including six children,” Lesley Watt, who lives on Rum, said.

“With only one child in nursery and two in our primary school, we need more families to fill our school, as well as to be the next generation of islanders.”

Four energy-efficient homes are being built in Rum’s village, which are available to rent.

Residents said they hoped potential new community members would be able to come and visit in a few months’ time to see whether remote island life was for them.

In the application form for the new rental homes, prospective islanders were warned there were “few and limited opportunities for salaried work” on Rum, and asked to show how they would support themselves financially if they were to move.

Self-employed roles, such as in tourism or home repairs, are named as potential examples of jobs on the island, where red deer and ponies roam free and a colony of around 200,000 Manx shearwater seabirds live.

The new homes being built in the village – where Kinloch Castle also sits – have largely been funded by the Scottish government.

Councillor Denis Rixson, the chairman of the Isle of Rum Community Trust, which owns much of Kinloch village, said: “Without the substantial support of the Scottish government’s Rural and Island Housing Fund, the project could not have moved beyond the feasibility stage.”