Highland Trends

Summary

Highland Trends is prepared by the Planning Policy & Europe section of the Council's Planning and Development Service. It presents information on trends in a range of topics that contribute to the socio-economic and environmental situation in The Highland Council area.

This issue of Highland Trends is more comprehensive in its topic coverage and more statistically based than previous issues. The Highland Council Planning and Development Service is currently reviewing the Highland Structure Plan and part of this process requires the Council to survey the area covered by the Plan. The survey deals with those matters that are likely to affect the development of the area or the planning of such development. It is intended, therefore, that this issue of Highland Trends will begin to form the base line information for the Structure Plan survey. As such it takes a longer-term view of trends, looking where possible over the last 10 years, at the current situation and likely prospects

Information is drawn from a wide range of sources and provides a backcloth to the planning policies of The Council and other agencies as well as being of interest to the general public.

This summary is merely a selection of information available in Highland Trends. The full document covers a much wider range of more detailed information and provides contextual background. It also gives Area breakdowns and national comparisons where possible.

Further information and full copies of Highland Trends are available from:

The Planning and Development Service,
The Highland Council,
Glenurquhart Road,
Inverness IV3 5NX

Cost £10. Individual sections can also be purchased for £2 each.

Summary produced: October 1997.

Community | Economy | Environment | Infrastructure

Community

Population

The total population of Highland has increased from 200,764 in 1986 to 208,700 in 1996. It is anticipated to increase further to 218,448 by 2011.
The retired population is expected to experience the fastest growth rate, whilst there will be a decline in the number of people less than 30 years old.
Highland's population growth is largely attributable to net in-migration. This is expected to continue at a rate of around 750 per annum to 2011.
In 1991 almost half of the population lived in 8 settlements. Highland has the lowest population density in Scotland at 8 persons per square kilometre.
Between 1981 and 1991 areas which lost population included parts of Caithness and Sutherland, southern areas of Wester Ross, Lochaber and remote settlement zones in Inverness.

Housing Stock

The total housing stock has risen from 89,923 in 1991 to 96,920 in 1996 and is forecast to increase to 112,300 by 2008.
Around 28% of the stock is council rented. Since the introduction of the Right to Buy in 1979 around one third of the Council's stock has been sold.
Second or holiday homes account for 7% of the total housing stock.

Housing Market

The average house price in Highland has risen by 8% between 1991 and 1995. This compares with a 6% drop in the average UK price over the same period. The 1995 average house price in Highland was £54,823.
The house price to earnings ratio indicates that house prices in Highland are now less affordable than in Scotland or the UK as a whole.

Education

Primary school rolls have fallen from a peak of 19,647 in 1991 to a current roll of 19,141. Secondary rolls increased to around 15,300 in 1994 and have remained relatively stable.
The number of pupils in S5 and S6 increased by almost one third between 1986/87 and 1996/97.
School running costs in Highland are around 10% above the national average.
Examination results in Highland are above the national average with 43% of S4 pupils obtaining one or more Highers at grades A-C in S5.
Over half of school leavers in Highland go on to higher or further education, whilst a further quarter enter employment.
There are 1,070 pupils in publicly funded nurseries, providing for around one fifth of 3 and 4 year olds in The Council's area, half the Scottish average.

Retailing

Since 1982, 16 food stores over 1,000sq.m have opened in Highland. Planning permission has been granted for a further 9,600sq.m of supermarket developments.
Total retail warehouse floorspace has increased from 2,400sq.m in 1985 to 28,500sq.m in 1997.
Inverness has 57 multiple stores, the fifth largest number in Scotland.
The increasing attraction of Inverness as a shopping centre is reflected in Zone A rents having increased from £59 per sq.ft in 1990 to £70 in 1995.
There are 258 post offices in Highland, 89 of which are community post offices with limited opening hours and limited services.

Quality of Life

Inverness has recently been ranked the fifth most desirable place to live in Britain and third in Scotland.
In 1996 there were 55.5 crimes reported per 1,000 of the population in Highland, compared with 88.1 for Scotland as a whole.
In 1996 84% of the population of Highland felt that they were very or reasonably healthy, whilst 6% felt they were in poor health.
The average price for a basket of food is 7% higher in rural areas in Highland than in Aberdeen. Prices in Inverness are 6% higher.

Economy

Employment

In 1995 there were 78,491 employees in The Highland Council area, an increase of 1,179 since 1989. Around one third of employees in Highland work part time. 50% of females work part-time.
Over one quarter of employment is in distribution, hotels and catering with a further 27% in public administration, education and health.
84% of firms in Highland employ less than 25 people.
14% of the economically active population in Highland are self employed, compared with 9% for Scotland.
There are around 1,300 jobs in the environment sector in Highland. The continued growth of this sector is anticipated.
1996 average gross weekly earnings in Highland were £285.8. The figure for Scotland is £324.9.
The Gross Domestic Product per worker in Highland is £24,877, 8% below the Scotland figure.

Unemployment

In June 1997, there were 6,833 claimants in Highland, equivalent to 6.9% of the workforce. It has been higher than the UK and Scottish averages since 1993.
Those unemployed for more than 6 months account for almost half of all claimants.
Youth unemployment (aged 16-24) accounts for 22% of the total number of unemployed.

Tourism and recreation

Estimated tourism expenditure in Highland has fallen from £419m in 1986 to £373m in 1995. It accounts for around 17% of the total for Scotland.
Over 500,000 people visited the mountains of the Highlands and Islands in 1995, staying for a total of 5.6m visitor days.

Energy

Over 750 Megawatts of electricity are generated for public supply in Highland.
There has been a growth in demand of around 2% per annum for electricity between 1987 and 1996. This is expected to continue at just over 1% per annum to 2003.
Potential renewable energy projects in Highland could contribute over 40 Megawatts.

Travel to work

Over 80% of Highland's workforce work within The Council area.
Over half of workers in Highland travel to work by car, with 16% walking to work and 8% travelling by bus.
Over 60% of workers travel 4km or less to work, with 13% travelling more than 20km.

Environment

Natural and built heritage

There are 368 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Highland and 40 National Scenic Areas. These cover over one third of The Council's land area.
There are almost 3,000 listed buildings in Highland, 170 of which are of national importance.
The number of protected Scheduled Monuments presently stands at 852. There are a further 26,000 locally important archaeological sites.

Coastal and riverine systems

Highland has around 3,500km of coastline, 97% of which is classified as Class A in terms of its aesthetic, biological, bacteriological and chemical condition.
90% of Highland's 262km2 estuarine water is Class A.
In 1995 14,364 km of river were classified, of which over 99% was in Class A and supporting salmonid fish.

Agriculture and crofting

Total agricultural output in Scotland has increased from £118m in 1985 to over £170m in 1994. It accounts for 9% of the total for Scotland.
There has been a small increase in agricultural employment from 6,545 in 1991 to 6,806 in 1996.
Highland (plus Moray) received £36.2m in direct farming subsidies in 1994. This is an increase of two thirds since 1985.
In 1996 there were 7,443 registered crofts in Highland. Almost 10% of crofts in the Highlands and Islands are run by absentee tenants.

Minerals and peat

Aggregate production in Highland has increased from 4.7m tonnes in 1989 to 7m in 1995, the majority of which is crushed rock.
In 1995 sand and gravel reserves would meet needs for 14 years and crushed rock reserves for 17 years.
In 1990 9,320 hectares of land were highlighted for peat extraction potential. 4,300 hectares of this have subsequently been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Forestry

4,686 hectares of forest were planted in the year ending March 1997, with a further 1,695 established through managed regeneration.
Over three quarter of forestry proposals notified to The Council between August 1996 and April 1997 involved applications under the Woodland Grant Scheme.

Sea fisheries and aquaculture

120,432 tonnes of fish were landed in Highland in 1995, over one quarter of the Scottish total.
In Highland the value of all fish landed in 1995 was £78m, an increase of 16% from 1994.
Highland accounted for 32,283 tonnes (39%) of Scotland's salmon production in 1996. A minor expansion of 2% is expected in 1997.
The Council was consulted on 17 applications for new or modified seabed leases between mid 1996 and mid 1997.

Infrastructure

Transport

Average traffic flows within Highland vary from less than 1,000 per day on the west coast to over 21,000 a day at the Kessock Bridge.
There are 625km of rail network within The Highland Council Area and 57 train stations.
Between 1986/87 and 1995/96 the total number of passengers through Highland airports has increased by almost two thirds.
In 1988 15,645 Travel Cards were issued to residents over retirement age and disabled persons. This increased to over 20,500 in 1996.
There has been a 16% decrease in road casualties in Highland since 1987. The government target is for a reduction by one third by the year 2000.
Car ownership in Highland has increased from 57% of households in 1971 to 69% in 1991.

Waste management

85,000 tonnes of waste is generated each year by households in Highland, with a further 37,000 tonnes of commercial waste produced.
In 1996 around 5,000 tonnes of waste was recycled at a cost in excess of £120,000.
At 1993 sewage sludge arisings in Highland totalled 1,522 tonnes. In the Inner Moray Firth area sewage sludge is estimated to increase by 300% by 2016.