Rum and join us! Wanted, families to escape rat race

IT is the perfect location for those looking to escape crowds and enjoy a slower pace of life.

But now the few residents of a tiny island in the Inner Hebrides have decided they need more people to live there in order to boost its dwindling population.

Rum, which neighbours Eigg, Canna and Skye, is just eight miles from end to end and home to around 30 people. Its school has only two pupils. However, four two-bedroom homes are being built in its village of Kinloch. Islanders hope families with young children will be among those renting them.

Such candidates, along with people with a trade or skill that could help boost the local economy, will be considered favourably in the search for ‘dynamic individuals or families who are keen to fit into the island way of life and help drive positive change for this young and growing community’.

Rent is expected to be around £450 per month, according to the Isle of Rum Community Trust (IRCT). But prospective islanders are being warned that they will have to face some challenges.

Life on Rum is described as ‘offgrid’, with small hydro-electric schemes providing power.

The IRCT’s Steve Robertson said more people were needed to make island life sustainable.

He said: ‘To grow the community, to give it resilience, to deal with the challenges and issues of running an off-grid community, off-grid water and off-grid hydroelectric, we need more people, we need more kids in the school.

‘Everything is stressed by the fact there are not enough people.’

Debby Ingram, head of the island’s school, said the two pupils were good friends, but she added: ‘They want more friends and to have that kind of social interaction so we can play games with more than just two children.’

Support for the new homes came from the Scottish Government’s Rural and Islands Housing Fund, the IRCT said, adding Rum has a range of job opportunities including in childcare, food production, house maintenance, fish farming or marine and mountain tourism.