Loss of shops is threatening rural communities | Letter

If services like fuel, banking and groceries are cut off, the economic base of an area inevitably declines, says Chas BallWithout shops, fuel supplies and post offices with banking facilities, will remote communities face further depopulation? The closure of the shop in Kilchoan follows a number of other closures of similar local assets in Lochaber and Argyll (‘Morrisons killed us’: Britain’s most westerly mainland village shop closes after half a century, 30 October). But is it a policy failure or just a case of market forces?Nearly 50 years ago, a government-funded scheme offered a lifeline to communities that were keen to save key assets. A programme was initiated by the Highlands and Islands Development Board in 1977 as a way of supporting community-led development. It offered to match local financial contributions and provide practical support through an outreach team, of which I was a member. Tested in the Western Isles, by 1979 it was expanded to the rest of the Highlands and islands. Continue reading...

Comments

Opinions

Letters to the Editor: It's time for Valley Plaza to become an asset rather than an eyesore for North Hollywood

LA Times

Britain's doom loop has begun, says City guru ALEX BRUMMER. The signs are everywhere - and experts' warnings chill me. But there IS an answer...

about 19 hours ago

'Net zero by 2050' is total BS. But opposing it is like opposing WORLD PEACE: PETER VAN ONSELEN

Dailymail

‘Nuremberg’ star Rami Malek felt ‘claustrophobia’ starring in intense prison scenes with Russell Crowe: ‘There was no escape’

about 21 hours ago

With Alvin Bragg’s re-election under a Mayor Mamdani, ‘justice’ in NYC is about to get worse

Newyork Post

An old theatre in Sydney hides one of the coolest venues I've seen - and my new favourite restaurant in town is tucked in there too: THE DETOUR

about 24 hours ago

Calm down Dems, your socialist champagne will age quickly

Newyork Post

This Leftist election landslide was caused by the same vile disease that's triggered a GOP civil war. We now need the courage to do what must happen next: MAUREEN CALLAHAN

1 day ago

Dailymail

The big question Anthony Albanese needs to ask about the race to net-zero - and why it could be painful for your wallet

1 day ago

Newyork Post

Zohran Mamdani is splitting the Democrats — and giving GOP an opportunity

2 days ago

Dailymail

I've got news for the BBC bosses who think they'll get away with fabricating a damaging Trump quote: A huge storm is coming: STEPHEN GLOVER

2 days ago

Dailymail

Rachel Reeves was a wan prophet of perdition, honking like a faulty cyborg: QUENTIN LETTS

2 days ago

Dailymail

I was spending thousands of pounds on porn. It took tragedy to end my addiction of 30 years: Strictly champion ORE ODUBA bravely speaks out on shame that ruined his life - and what drove him to seek help

2 days ago

Dailymail

Andrew told lover's landlady to curtsy: RICHARD EDEN'S DIARY

2 days ago

Dailymail

ANDREW NEIL: Brace yourselves, we're ALL about to be clobbered by a double tax whammy. Every striver in the land will be hit - and here's how

2 days ago

New York’s Desi voters are flexing power — and Zohran Mamdani wooed them hard

Newyork Post

Sir Clive Woodward: This is the England team Steve Borthwick should pick to face Fiji, why they must not make wholesale changes, the one player who deserves another shot and the dark horse I'd like to see come in

2 days ago

QUENTIN LETTS: Reeves was a wan prophet of perdition honking like a malfunctioning cyborg

Dailymail

Campus influencers are in tears over having fewer followers than their peers — and the grift is ruining their college experience

2 days ago

New York City’s mayoral election: Letters to the Editor — Nov. 4, 2025

Newyork Post

Comments

Similar News

The Guardian view on the Caerphilly byelection: Labour’s collapse in its Welsh heartland signals a wider loss | Editorial

Yes, Anna Wintour could be brutal. But like me she'll surely feel a deep sense of loss to walk away from the cashmere nest that is the editor's chair at Vogue: ALEXANDRA SHULMAN

She Struggled With Addiction, Then Tried a Weight Loss Drug

Letters to the Editor: 'The loss of academic freedom' is too high a price for USC to pay

Beware weight-loss drug statistics

Opinions

Letters to the Editor: It's time for Valley Plaza to become an asset rather than an eyesore for North Hollywood

Letters to the Editor: Playgrounds function as many families' backyards. They need shade trees

Mamdani’s mayoral win: Letters to the Editor — Nov. 6, 2025

Letters to the Editor: Celebrating 'a light in the darkness of California's Indigenous history'

NYC Republicans must wake up: They’ve got to become a real alternative, not a joke

Can I track down Tottenham Hotspur shares bought in 1998? CRANE ON THE CASE

Miranda Devine: Trump knows he has just one year to fireproof his agenda, safeguard future elections

NJ Dems are crushing my family — and Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill could make us flee

Michael Goodwin: Graceless sore winner Zohran Mamdani immediately drops his mask and declares war on NYC

Britain's doom loop has begun, says City guru ALEX BRUMMER. The signs are everywhere - and experts' warnings chill me. But there IS an answer...

'Net zero by 2050' is total BS. But opposing it is like opposing WORLD PEACE: PETER VAN ONSELEN

Top takeaways from the GOP election night shellacking

Zohran Mamdani’s DSA allies are flexing power in Albany — and no corner of the state is safe

No, I’m not leaving NYC because we have a socialist mayor — and neither should you

Hooray! Voters bless a rollback of the City Council’s power to block affordable housing

Let Andrew Cuomo’s latest farewell be his last one, too

‘Nuremberg’ star Rami Malek felt ‘claustrophobia’ starring in intense prison scenes with Russell Crowe: ‘There was no escape’

With Alvin Bragg’s re-election under a Mayor Mamdani, ‘justice’ in NYC is about to get worse

Tuesday’s elections were a GOP wake up call for these two reasons

Now violence-wishing pols win, it’s still ‘the economy, stupid’ and other commentary

Back to the future at M&S: The High Street favourite is showing investors some mettle, says ALEX BRUMMER

An old theatre in Sydney hides one of the coolest venues I've seen - and my new favourite restaurant in town is tucked in there too: THE DETOUR

Calm down Dems, your socialist champagne will age quickly

Gavin Newsom’s crude Prop 50 chest-thumping isn’t the win he thinks it is

Zohran Mamdani’s win shows how Jewish groups failed Jews by dismissing antisemitism on the left

My girlfriend's new body modification is repulsive. She says she did it for me... I want to leave her: DEAR JANE

JENNI MURRAY: This is the brutal truth about getting a mastectomy that all women must hear

RIP Dick Cheney, last of the Cold War Republicans — and the left’s ‘Darth Vader’

Best of the Babylon Bee: Embarrassed Dems say they can’t remember why they shut government down

Letters to the Editor: L.A. is still in turmoil, but Dodgers celebrations were a nice reprieve

Contributor: Salmon's comeback pits nature against Trump administration

GOP must get real in NYC with ‘winnable’ five borough strategy — and ditch the beret

Zohran Mamdani won but has no mandate — it’s up to Kathy Hochul to save the city

Dem voters embrace fringe — from socialists to pro-assassination nuts

The disturbing truth about those revolting smears after JD Vance and Erika Kirk's hug: KENNEDY

This Leftist election landslide was caused by the same vile disease that's triggered a GOP civil war. We now need the courage to do what must happen next: MAUREEN CALLAHAN

The big question Anthony Albanese needs to ask about the race to net-zero - and why it could be painful for your wallet

Zohran Mamdani is splitting the Democrats — and giving GOP an opportunity

I've got news for the BBC bosses who think they'll get away with fabricating a damaging Trump quote: A huge storm is coming: STEPHEN GLOVER

Rachel Reeves was a wan prophet of perdition, honking like a faulty cyborg: QUENTIN LETTS

I was spending thousands of pounds on porn. It took tragedy to end my addiction of 30 years: Strictly champion ORE ODUBA bravely speaks out on shame that ruined his life - and what drove him to seek help

Andrew told lover's landlady to curtsy: RICHARD EDEN'S DIARY

ANDREW NEIL: Brace yourselves, we're ALL about to be clobbered by a double tax whammy. Every striver in the land will be hit - and here's how

New York’s Desi voters are flexing power — and Zohran Mamdani wooed them hard

Thank you to New Yorkers for going to the polls — let’s hope you chose wisely

Gates’ global warming pivot: Letters to the Editor — Nov. 5, 2025

Democrats shut down the government over a piddling price rise — but fight real reform

The next mayor can’t afford to turn its back on the NYPD’s growing successes

The reasons behind Gen Z’s love of Luigi Mangione should scare everyone who cares about the future of America

ICE should cut Ali Faqirzada a break: He worked with US forces against the the Taliban

Britain's bloated public sector is the real reason Reeves is coming for your wealth, says ALEX BRUMMER

Trump’s Supreme Court tariff case tests the limits of presidential power

Sir Clive Woodward: This is the England team Steve Borthwick should pick to face Fiji, why they must not make wholesale changes, the one player who deserves another shot and the dark horse I'd like to see come in

QUENTIN LETTS: Reeves was a wan prophet of perdition honking like a malfunctioning cyborg

Letters to the Editor: Zone Zero regulations are too simplistic to solve a 'seriously complex problem'

Contributor: Voters want both 'tough on crime' and compassionate reform

Campus influencers are in tears over having fewer followers than their peers — and the grift is ruining their college experience

New York City’s mayoral election: Letters to the Editor — Nov. 4, 2025

Democrats’ big shutdown ‘win’ is only going to be setting a new record for ‘longest’ — and most futile

Tucker Carlson aims to poison us with hatred — but Donald Trump stands in the way