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CHAPTER FOUR: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ON SERVICE PROVISION IN CASE STUDY AREAS

4.1 Introduction

Case study selection³⁷

The purpose of case study selection was to identify three rural areas in Scotland where the costs and benefits of co-location service provision models could be investigated. Selection of these areas was based on a number of factors. Specifically, the aim was to have a mix of remote rural and accessible rural areas, and areas with different combinations of existing services. In addition it was considered to be important to have at least one case study area not on the mainland, and at least one in the south of Scotland. Consideration was also given to population levels and whether or not the area featured an example of co-located services that was included in the recently completed One-Stop-Shop research. It was felt that having at least one area that met this latter criterion would provide a degree of continuity through the research that the Scottish Executive has commissioned on this issue. Consideration of the nature of existing co-located service projects was another important criterion. The three areas chosen all include existing co-location initiatives. However, these have developed via contrasting processes, involving different stakeholders and agencies. In addition, they have been in existence for varying amounts of time. Indeed one was only opened in July 2005. Other important distinctions between the co-location projects in the chosen case study areas are the scale of the project and the 'hub' around which other services are located. We believe that the choice of areas serves to provide as varied a combination of case studies as is feasible with three cases.

Following the selection procedure and subsequent discussion with the steering group the three chosen case studies were Stornoway, Applecross and Eastriggs (Dumfries and Galloway). The characteristics of the three co-location case studies are summarised in Table 4.

This chapter provides detailed information about service provision in the chosen case study areas. The content is drawn from five workshops held in November and December 2005.

4.2 Methods

In Stornoway and Eastriggs two workshops were conducted, one with service providers and one with local residents. (However, it should be noted that in some cases service providers were also local residents and some local residents were also involved in service provision, for example, playgroups or carework). In Applecross just one workshop was carried out and almost all of the local residents who attended were also employed in the provision of local services.

The format of the workshops was a series of four interactive workshop exercises, each followed by directed discussion. A topic guide is appended. The purpose of the workshops was to provide context for interview surveys, and indeed to test aspects of the survey. As such, the results presented here describe current service use and cover a range of issues and opinions relating to service provision in the case study areas. A total of 63 people were involved in the workshops, 24 in Stornoway, 28 in Eastriggs, and 11 in Applecross.

Table 4: Selected case studies

4.3 Case study one - Stornoway

The first workshop was held in the afternoon of the 21 ^st November 2005 at the Voluntary Action Centre, Stornoway. There were eight participants in all, five men and three women. All were involved in service provision and were from the following organisations:

• Careers Scotland
• Western Isles Enterprise
• Better Neighbourhood Services Fund
• Social Work Department, Western Isles Council
• Great Bernera Community Centre
• Job Centre Plus
• Community Development, Western Isles Council
• Voluntary Action Lewis

The second workshop was held at the same venue in the evening of the same day. A total of 16 people attended, 10 women and six men. Participants were from various parts of Stornoway and settlements in north Lewis, including Leurbost, Uig, Pairc, North Shawbost, Back, North Lochs, Tong, Braggar, Back, Stor and Carishader.

4.3a Stornoway - Mapping service use

The first exercise (as detailed in the topic guide appended) provided participants with 10 post-it notes, each featuring the name of a service, and a large map (Figure 6). The 10 services were those identified by participants at the stakeholder workshop in Perth as being most important for rural areas. Participants were asked the following "Where do you or a member of your household access the 10 services indicated (the ones that apply)?" and were asked to write their answer on the relevant note and to stick that note on the map. All results from the afternoon and evening mapping exercises are appended. Overall, the pattern of use of services suggests there is reasonable availability of most services in locations other than Stornoway.

Afternoon

After the exercise there was a brief discussion with participants about availability of services. When asked if there were any services that people used on the mainland, i.e. that were not available or readily accessible on Lewis, a number of people mentioned the dentist, stating that new people cannot get registered with a dentist on Lewis. One participant goes to Inverness to use the dentist. People also commented that some hospital services are not available and that some are moving out of Lewis - specifically psychiatric services and maternity services were mentioned. The mainland is also used for some types of shopping. One person mentioned that he has not bought clothes on the island for years. There was also agreement about the lack of DIY stores being a problem. A specific example was that you could not get something like a hen house locally (which in a farming/crofting community you might expect to be able to get, as you can for example on Skye).

Figure 6: The completed mapping exercise at the afternoon workshop in Stornoway

Evening

After the evening exercise there was a discussion about the lack of services for youth. One specific comment was that "there is nothing for young people - no cinema, 10 pin bowling, or any of the kinds of things you would expect to get on the mainland". One participant added that you have to go to the mainland if you can afford it, otherwise you just go into town, and hang about. However, someone pointed out that there is a karting track (that is struggling to make ends meet), and that there will soon be cinema in Stornoway at the Lantern Arts Centre. Also there are plans for bowling at a new sports centre.

In contrast to the current lack of services for the youth, it was felt to be an excellent place for old people. One participant gave an example of one old lady of 84 who lives in Point. She gets picked up, taken to the hospice, given lunch, and then taken home at the end of the day and it is all provided for free. A similar situation exists in Bragar where nine elderly people are picked up and taken to a day centre, although they are charged.

People discussed the fact that the implication of not having certain shops on the island is that you have to buy things like clothes and household goods by mail order. Also, the things that are available on the island cost more because of transport costs. As an example, one participant described how they had bought an old house on Lewis and renovated it. They found that it was cheaper to buy all the things for the house on the mainland and truck it over rather than buy in shops or from suppliers on Lewis. Overall, there was recognition that prices on Lewis cannot be competitive on price with the mainland.

4.3b Stornoway - What's good about services in your area

In exercise two participants were asked to write down three things that were good about services in their area.

Afternoon

There was a discussion at the beginning of this exercise relating to whether or not Stornoway is rural. Some people who live outside Stornoway insisted that it is definitely urban. One gentleman in particular insisted that Stornoway is rural. The facilitator explained that Stornoway was chosen as a case study because it is clearly an important service centre for rural communities, and the Scottish Executive classification for its catchment area is very remote rural. There was also a discussion about how 'area' should be defined, since the exercise asked people about services in their area. Participants were told that they should use their own definition of area, as this would be different for different people depending on their lifestyle, location and transport.

After the exercise, the issue of 'local' was discussed as this appeared to be one of the key themes that emerged from the comments collected. The group agreed that services being 'local' is important. It was felt that local provision was important to keep communities alive and to contribute towards community cohesion. In one case a participant complained that they no longer have the 'local' option since the village grocery store closed. In other places where the village shop remained it was felt to be important for meeting other people.

There were comments that being able to have personalised service and contact was a good thing. The group stated that it was also practical, as if things go wrong it is more difficult to get the problem sorted out if the initial contact was on the mainland or elsewhere.

There were some comments about education being good. In particular there are good primary schools. However the fear is that there is talk about closing some schools and having one larger one for the west coast. There was no support for this idea. The group felt that it is important that education is available locally.

There were a few comments about transport being good. It has improved in the last 5-10 years and is very cheap but in some places there are a limited number of buses per day (only three a day in one particular place). There seemed to be acceptance of this though.

Royal Mail was felt to offer a good service as it offers the same service everywhere, regardless of remoteness, and is always reliable. Delivery times have recently been changed for the better which was felt to be especially important for businesses.

Another comment relating to what is good was that places were not over-crowded, and that parking was generally easy.

Evening

Evening participants had a lot to say about service provision and what was good about it. For example, public transport was found to be good, as it is friendly, cheap, reasonable, regular, and with good schedules. A number of specific services were found to be good. Those that were mentioned included health services, supermarket, community shop, mobile shop, the availability of locally produced food, the police station, and sports centre. One participant spent a number of years as chaplain at the hospital. There were very few complaints and it was felt to be one of the best hospitals. The level of social work and standard of carers is good. But there was recognition that it costs a lot of money for elderly to have carers.

Schools were felt to be good, especially with regard to class sizes and the attention children receive as a result. However, although some schools out in the country may have as few as 5+ pupils, in Stornoway primary school there are 30 per class. One rural school has 24 pupils in the whole school. Other good things about the schools are that there are good school activities, dedicated teachers, and christian values.

4.3c Stornoway - What's not so good about services in your area

The next exercise required participants to write down three things that were not so good about services in their area.

Afternoon

For the not-so-good comments there was one clear theme - transport and the cost of it to the mainland. In particular participants pointed out that flights are very expensive. However, it was accepted that limited demand makes it inevitable that flights will be more expensive than to other destinations.

Although the discussion was primarily about service use, CalMac were praised for being a good employer as they pay good wages and offer good staff training and opportunities for promotion (based on one example from someone who grew up on Raasay).

There was a comment about limited services, especially health care, but the group felt that this depends on where you live on Lewis. However, there were concerns about there being a reduction in health services. The group acknowledged that the continuance of provision depends on the size of the population base. There was some discussion about the competence of staff, their experience and practice ( i.e. how regularly they are required to perform certain duties and this obviously depends on the number of people accessing their service). Someone commented that they might prefer to travel some distance to get something done by someone regularly performing that procedure. However, the opposite view was that you might be better off in an emergency if a member of health service staff is on hand (even if they have limited and irregular experience). It was felt that lack of some health services such as paediatric services may discourage families with young children from coming to the area. Health care was considered to be a basic requirement that should be a key part of the infrastructure. There was a common view that developments such as broadband do not help if the basic services are lacking. However, this depends on population group. There was particular interest in maternity services - if pregnancy services are increasingly provided at a distance there is no opportunity for developing skills locally relating to delivery etc. This was thought to be a bad thing.

One thing that was thought to be not so good was that there was not a pub within 16 miles of where someone was living. However, discussion led to the obvious conclusion that there is not the tradition of this on the island.

Evening

After the evening exercise there were again comments about the lack of things for young people, such as youth clubs and apprenticeships. There were also some comments about the lack of services for elderly and disabled. There were numerous comments about the variety and quality of some services, for example, tradesmen, shops, and police. Overall, it was felt that fuel costs make everything difficult.

There was disquiet about the perceived impact of European legislation and regulation generally. Specifically, people were unhappy that lots of travelling shops had to close, as they saw it, because of issues relating to hygiene, and costs of purchasing chillers, freezers etc. The discussion continued with mention of the fact that community groups cannot bring soup (for example) that has been prepared at home to community activities. There are lots of fund raising events around the island but it becomes unfeasible when, for example, two people have to go on a food hygiene course so that they can hold a burger stall. There was a feeling that certain regulations make life very difficult for small voluntary, community groups and facilities when, for example, it is necessary to get an electrician to fit a light bulb in a public building. However, there was acknowledgement that the EU has done some good - for example, through the upgrading of roads. Nevertheless there were some comments about bad roads to some areas - problems were centred around distance and the quality of road surfaces. Still on transport, the whole group agreed that the expense of ferry and plane travel to the mainland was a problem. There were also felt to be too few buses to some rural areas. Expensive transport also means that goods are more expensive. Cost of fuel was identified as being part of this problem. One participant noted that large buses pass his door half full and suggested that these could be replaced with minibuses to save money. One participant (a wheelchair user) noted that there are no low-loading buses and hence no public transport for disabled. She has to rely on her own car to travel from Leurbost. Also she found certain paths too narrow for wheelchairs.

Other things identified as being 'not so good' included disabled access and the lack of a dentist. An additional problem was related to the fact that some other services such as some health care are only available on the mainland. If a relative has to have treatment in Inverness it is very expensive for family members to visit.

Conclusions

Overall, education and health services are thought to be good. However, there are some concerns about declining services, and threats to withdraw others (particularly health).

Transport on the island is found to be cheap, reliable, friendly, and generally thought to be regular enough. Services for elderly people are considered to be very good. Transport off island is considered to be very expensive and represents one of the main problems for island life.

Other problems identified are the lack of dentists, lack of clothes shops, lack of DIY shops and lack of things for youths to do.

Other specific issues were identified, including poor disability access, difficulty of getting tradesmen, and problems with agricultural services such as slaughterhouses, and obtaining items such as henhouses. There was a general sense that the cost of fuel affects the price of everything that has to be transported to the island. However, on a positive note, there are good community shops, and a sense of advantage over the mainland in terms of class sizes and health waiting lists.

After the final exercise in the evening there was additional general discussion. Someone emphasised that health services are the most important services. The issue of accessibility for wheelchairs and prams was raised, as was the need for places for baby changing. It was stressed that all these things are important. One participant told the group about Uig Community Centre, where there is a school, sports centre, café, youth club, and where there has been community buy out of the local shop. This is now run by a management committee of volunteers. This is co-location in action. Uig has 420-450 people and was described as a 'good community' that included incomers with children.

4.4 Case study two - Eastriggs

The first Eastriggs workshop was held at Nelson House Community Centre, Eastriggs in the afternoon of the 29 ^th November 2005. There were nine participants, all involved in service provision. They represented a number of organisations, including the Office of the Chief Executive, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Community Learning & Development, Dumfries & Galloway Council, Community Planning, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Citizens Advice, Capability Scotland, Annan and District Business and Professional Womens Club, Eastriggs Lunch Club, and Community Learning. The local Councillor was also present.

The evening workshop took place at the same venue on the same day. There were 19 participants at the evening workshop, of which 10 were male, and nine were female. Of these, 13 lived in Eastriggs itself, five in nearby Annan (about 4-5 miles west) and one in Dornock. Eleven of the participants declined to respond to the question about educational level achieved. Of those who did answer, two had achieved an undergraduate degree, two had achieved highers, one standard grade, one school certificate, one short-hand typing qualification and one who had achieved no formal educational qualification. Two of the participants were aged 30 or under, one person was in their forties, five were in their fifties, four were in their sixties, six were in their seventies and one was over 80. In line with the age distribution, 11 participants were retired. The occupations of those in employment included process worker, fencing contractor, senior housekeeper at a hotel, police officer, laundry worker, sales representative and sales assistant. None of the households had children under the age of five, although two had children between the ages of 5-18 and one had offspring over 18. Two of the participants had lived in the area for less than five years and a further three for between 10-15 years. Six of the participants had lived in the area for between 20-29 years, one between 40-49 years, five between 50-59 years and two for more than 60 years. Five people had lived in the area all their life.

4.4a Eastriggs - Mapping service use

Afternoon

Not all participants in the afternoon session were Eastriggs residents so those who were not were asked to complete this exercise using the best of their knowledge to say where people in Eastriggs might have to go in order to access certain services. Those participants who were Eastriggs residents were asked to indicate where they themselves accessed certain services.

The facilitator commented that from the map it appeared that all 10 services were available either in Eastriggs, Gretna or Annan. The group commented that Eastriggs is not isolated but is on a main route with good bus links to Gretna and Annan. However, when the A75 was completed it bypassed Eastriggs and as a consequence there are vacant shops and there is no longer any passing trade. As a result of the bypass the local community developed 'Devils Porridge' (a website and visitor centre about the local ammunitions factory that was the reason for the establishment of Eastriggs) to encourage people to visit the area. Annan was also bypassed and suffers the same problems. Eastriggs currently lacks a fulltime GP clinic and this was thought to be a problem particularly as there is an ageing community, some of whom cannot easily travel to the surgery in Annan. Also lacking (and linked to this) is a chemist in Eastriggs. Further, the community has a continual fight just to retain things such as a podiatrist. Adult education was felt to be good. Eastriggs currently has 7-8 literacy classes for incoming families a week.

The overall picture that emerged was that all services were available in Eastriggs itself or along the road in either Annan or Gretna. No other locations or bigger settlements were included.

Evening

Unlike the afternoon workshop almost all services were accessed in Annan or Eastriggs. Very few go to Gretna for anything, other than a few who use the Doctors there. Also one person shops in Carlisle.

4.4b Eastriggs - What's good about services in your area

Afternoon

One of the issues that emerged was that of accessibility, and related to this, transport links. The group considered that transport links were very good compared to other rural areas. Another plus was that children are able to walk to school. However, it was noted that when people think about 'what's good' or 'not so good' they make comparisons with what they have experienced elsewhere. Hence, 'what's good' is relative. With regard to disability transport, there are some services in place to help access, such as a reduced cost taxi service. Part of the accessibility issue is about awareness of what is available.

With regard to people who are responsible for delivering services locally, it was felt that they are helpful, and that service delivery is timely. This was considered to be preferable to more anonymous services and is something that adds another element to a good service. However, it was noted that a more local and familiar service provider may be a problem for some services, for example contraception advice for young people. In this case, privacy, confidentiality and anonymity may be preferable.

People moving into the area see it as a nice friendly community but people who have lived here all their lives think it may be going the other way - i.e. losing cohesion. Some of the groups that brought people together like young wives no longer exist but people moving in seem keen to get involved. This was considered to be positive.

Evening

Many people thought the post offices were good in both Eastriggs and Annan. The post offices were felt to offer a wide range of services, more so than an 'average' post office. Specifically, the post office was said to be good for pensions but also for other generations for things like child benefit. People recognised that it has extra council services but there were some comments about the lack of privacy associated with the new council services located there. The issue of awareness of services and hence information about services was emphasised with a participant pointing out that there has just been more information put around the town about the council services available in the post office. Privacy was again mentioned as being a big issue.

There were comments about the good transport available and it was noted that this has improved recently with expanded routes.

There was a mixed view on the shops available. People recognised that they were fortunate to have two shops in the village. They commented that convenience was good, long opening hours are good and that there is a good range of products. Opening hours in one of the local shops are 6am-10pm in the week. This was felt to be very good. However, things are pricey. Nevertheless, it was recognised that this is the price you have to pay to have the shops locally.

4.4c Eastriggs - What's not so good about services in your area

Afternoon

The facilitator commented that what emerged from this exercise was not so much themes but a wish list of things that Eastriggs currently lacks. These included GP and pub. The village used to have a good pub but it closed - another victim of the bypass. The group recognised that there was a need for employment opportunities to stop young people leaving. Dumfries and Galloway has an ageing population and the area where Eastriggs is located has been identified as a development area.

There was a feeling that there is a lack of innovation and change in the area but that this is a trade-off for having local services. There was an impression that there are bureaucratic obstacles to innovation and that you have to stick with things for a long time to get anywhere (for example, with getting new initiatives off the ground). Some members of the group commented that there seems to be an attitude that people are not deserving because other people are worse off or that things do not improve because of the need to focus on all areas. There was an impression that some do not want to see one place doing well while another suffers. Also, the continuous fighting to get somewhere puts people off.

Evening

One big issue that emerged from this exercise was the Police service. There used to be a station in the village and a village bobby. However, the police station was moved to Annan and now calls go through to Dumfries, where, allegedly, calls are not always picked up. There was one example of someone trying to report cows on the busy A75 road and being put on hold. This kind of thing was felt to be a big problem. There is currently one community policeman to cover a large area. There was recognition that the Community PC is doing a good job and is taking some kids under his wing. People recognised that the problem is that the Police have not got money and resources to do the job they would want to do in the area. So all they can do is to send round a patrol every now and then. Urgent response time is half an hour which again people felt was not good. The group was concerned about an ongoing problem of anti-social behaviour, with some commenting that Annan is a no-go area at night. Again people recognised that it is sometimes not possible for the police to get there as quickly as they would want. There were comments about Annan Academy having a security guard that they pay for. There was a fear that soon communities will have to raise their own funds to pay for their own police cover.

Another issue that arose was that there is no sheltered accommodation for the elderly in Eastriggs, although there is some in Annan. The Housing Association is prepared to come in and build in Eastriggs but the land belongs to Dumfries and Galloway housing partnership and they will not release the land to another Association. The partnership apparently have no plans for development themselves and do not have funding for new build at the moment as they are carrying out upgrading and refurbishment.

Housing advice is available at the council service point in the Post Office but again people were concerned about the issue of privacy.

The group felt strongly that a Village Hall is needed, and that this could come with other services that are needed, for example a local council office and social facilities. Clearly, people were talking here about an example of co-location as being able to solve numerous local problems. Having a venue that could meet the needs of so many groups was thought to be a very good thing that Eastriggs needs.

4.5 Case study three - Applecross

The workshop held in Applecross took place at the Community Hall in the evening of the 14 ^th December. There were 11 participants at the workshop, six men and five women. Of these, seven lived in Applecross itself, three lived elsewhere on the peninsula, further up or down the coast, and one lived in Strathcarron. In terms of education, one participant was educated to postgraduate degree level, four had an undergraduate degree, three held diplomas, one had standard grade educational level, and one was a master mariner. Five of the participants were in their forties, a further three were in their fifties, two were in their sixties and one was under thirty. Occupations included headmistress, librarian, crofter, housewife, fisherman, proprietor of inn, centre bursar, school assistant, business advisor and retired shipmaster. A number of participants had more than one occupation. There were no households with children under five, but four had children aged 5-18. All participants had lived in the area for more than 10 years. Of those, four had lived in the area for between 10-19 years, five for between 20-29 years, one for 35 years and one for 63 years. There was only one person who had lived in the area for all of their life.

4.5a Applecross - Mapping service use

The mapping exercise showed a high level of use by the group of the services available in the village, for example, grocery shop, post office, doctor and pub.

Discussion after mapping exercise

Issues arising from the mapping exercise included the fact that the nearest police station is 20 miles away and that even that is often not manned. Calls to the police go through to Portree, Kyle of Lochalsh etc. Another issue that arose was the fact that the local post office does not provide all post office services needed so people are using Kyle and Inverness post offices as well.

None of the participants use any services in Shieldaig as there is nothing there that is not in Applecross. The facilitator asked 'so generally would you say that services here are good?'. The group response was that services in Applecross are very good but that there is no supermarket! Also people were concerned that the post office hours had recently been cut back. In Applecross there are two mobile fish vans and one mobile butcher, with the butcher round twice a week. This was considered to be a good and useful service to have access to.

4.5b Applecross - What's good about services in your area

There were lots of positive comments relating to the health care available in Applecross. The Doctor covers the whole peninsula but as she opted out of NHS24 she is always available, and always on call. People were also positive about the Dentist in Lochcarron. Although a dentist service is not available in Applecross there is one who comes to see the elderly and school children and does some treatment.

The group also had positive comments about the local primary school. It was considered to be good because of the small number of pupils (11). Plockton high school is also good but children have to leave Monday morning, board there all week and come back Friday evening. 15 or so pupils do this. Children used to go by boat and the journey took 45 minutes but this is no longer possible.

There were a range of comments relating to issues such as individual care, personal service, and flexibility. For example, people stated that the shop owner will open the post office counter for you if it is closed and you need something. The post office staff were described as being excellent at helping with form filling etc and helping the elderly, for example when pension payments were transferred to being paid through bank accounts. These were actions that people considered to be beyond the call of duty, and something that is only possible when the service is provided at a small-scale, local level by people who know you personally.

The group were very positive about the village hall and emphasised that it is very well used for a whole range of different activities including sports, yoga, play group, social activities, meetings and so on.

A number of the group were very positive about the fishing pier which is currently run by a not-for-profit community company, as it has been for the last five or six years. The company buy diesel in bulk so there is central point for all boat owners and not lots of diesel tanks all over village. It is also a tourist focus, and a good point for landing prawns etc.

There was some discussion about the council service point in Lochcarron. There are two part-time locality officers based there and people were aware that it was a place where they could pay for bins, council tax etc. Some people said that they use it, but others do not and overall there was little enthusiasm voiced for it. Some people go to Dingwall to access council services.

The roads men were considered to be very good and received lots of praise. They were said to be very good at keeping the road open (clearly important in a location such as Applecross) and hauling people back onto the road when needs be (even though they are not supposed to). This was presented as another example of people going the extra mile.

4.5c Applecross - What's not so good about services in your area

Discussion

There were lots of different themes and issues that emerged from this exercise. For example, there were concerns about waste and recycling services, specifically that there was a shortage of availability, limited service, reduction in service and related problems. Generally people were concerned about cut backs in hours and funding relating to health, post office, waste services etc.

The group discussed the problem of lack of choice, that is, not having any choice of provider. It was recognised that this is common to many rural areas and is linked to issues of accessibility, population, and remoteness. The issue of remoteness was specifically raised relating to emergency services. People stated that the doctor is very quick because she is local but an ambulance takes two hours and the air ambulance cannot always fly because of the weather. Also access to other specialist medical services is problematic.

Another issue that was discussed was the lack of a big sports field. There are apparently no plans for the creation of one due to the issue of land availability. There is a sports field at the school but this year they even failed to have the grass cut so it was not usable at all. There have been several requests from the school for additional funding to upgrade the field but these have not been successful.

The library was identified as being too small and not having new stock regularly enough. However, it was still considered to be a very important resource. The village has never had a stand alone library (it is currently in the primary school premises) as the population is too small to support this. One option would be to have a mobile library as they have in Shieldaig but this was not considered as preferable. People commented that the ideal would be to have both.

Another problem, not directly related to service provision, is that children in the village have very few children their own age. There was a feeling that the area would benefit from another three to four families, indeed that in order to be sustainable they need another 100 people. Related problems are that house prices are too high and employment is a big issue. If more people came in they would create employment, but they need employment in order to settle there. In terms of creating affordable housing, access to land is a core issue - specifically there is a problem with empty crofts that belong to absentee landlords.

The facilitator asked how many people work in services in Applecross. The answer was that there are five to six employed at the school; five to six at the doctors; three to four on the roads; some in the library; some cleaning holiday homes; some at the inn; some in the shop and post office and so on. Many of these are part-time and / or seasonal. However, clearly employment in services is quite important in such a small community.

There was a discussion about there being a shortage of tradesmen because it is not viable to have, for example, a plumbing business on the peninsula. As a result, the inn has tradesmen staying over, such as roofers etc. There used to be a part-time plumber/farmer in the village. The discussion came back to the idea that more people in villages would create more jobs. There was also a comment that the peninsula is in many ways like an island and experiences many of the same problems.

The cost of living in Applecross was felt to be high, mainly due to transport and fuel costs, because of the long and difficult distances that individuals and goods have to travel. Related to this is the overall issue of accessibility - obviously the roads into and out of Applecross are quite difficult.

Regarding public transport, there is a post bus but this was felt to be of limited use unless you are staying overnight somewhere out of the village and coming back the next day. Thus the timings are not much use. There is a subsidised community car scheme which is not, however, available to under 18s who do not have a car and cannot afford one. There is also a community minibus funded by social services. This will, for example, take groups of elderly folk to the village shop.

Despite this wide-ranging discussion about all the 'not-so-good' things there were strong feelings that people make the choice to live in Applecross so have to accept what they have, and accept that there will be limitations and problems. However, one participant asked why not try to improve what you have.

4.6 Conclusions

The challenge for co-location is to take into account the issues raised by the five workshops and provide solutions to some of the problems. This might be feasible, for example in Eastriggs where there was a clear need for a multi-purpose building that could house many different groups of people. It could also help to address the issues relating to the lack of a full-time GP and police. As these are services requiring a physical base co-location could be an option. However, where services such as sheltered housing or a good pub were identified as lacking, co-location is unlikely to be a solution.

On Lewis there were concerns about declining health services. There were also many concerns about expensive transport off-island and a lack of things for young people to do. Again co-location may be a solution to some of these issues, as a centre offering health services and activities for youth, for example, might be feasible.

In Applecross co-location is already a 'way of life' with three examples. The shop and post office share premises, and the petrol station is part of the same site. The primary school and village library also share premises and the new community hall provides accommodation for many different groups and activities. It is less clear how new co-location could add to the provision of services in Applecross as there is such a small population base, and the problems identified related to services such as nursing care for the elderly, secondary education, transport links and costs, emergency health services, and police.

In addition to providing in depth, contextual information the workshops reported above enabled testing of a number of iterations of the choice sets utilised in the choice experiment survey. This iterative process of pre-testing was invaluable to the development of the survey, the results of which are presented in the following chapters.

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