'Our rural industries can be the foundation for a new era of national prosperity'

Ahead of the May 7 election that will decide who controls the next Scottish Government, former Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) official and aquaculture sector executive Anne Anderson has written a series of five articles exploring why some of the most contested debates around salmon farming remain unresolved despite extensive evidence and policy intent. Today she looks at the improvements required in infrastructure and connectivity to unlock growth in the sector and, more widely, in the regions where it operates.

Scotland stands on the edge of something genuinely significant. For the first time, our rural industries – tourism, aquaculture, food and drink, agriculture, energy, and forestry – are not only being recognised as the beating heart of our economy, but as the foundation for a new era of national prosperity. And if we embrace the infrastructure Scotland truly needs, that future becomes not just possible, but inevitable.

A rural connectivity revolution is within reach

Recent parliamentary work suggests growing openness to thinking big about rural connectivity.

While the Scottish Government is still assessing the case, Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee has acknowledged what islanders have said for years: ferries alone struggle to support thriving economies. Its 2025-26 inquiry into fixed links, including inter-island tunnels like those in the Faroes, recognised that such links could be transformational for island communities.

Imagine what that means: dependable commuting, stable aquaculture logistics, renewed population growth, and islands reconnected to opportunity. This is the kind of long-term, nation‑building thinking Scotland has tended to avoid, and now needs.

Digital and energy systems ready for modern rural life

The UK Government’s Project Gigabit now covers more than 227,310 contracted premises across the UK, with Scottish rural communities among the beneficiaries. A dedicated 65,000‑premise rollout for the Highlands and Outer Hebrides is also under way through a £157 million contract with Openreach. The Scottish Parliament has explicitly linked poor digital connectivity to rural depopulation and economic fragility, and the economic case is clear: enhanced 4G/5G capability could add £17 billion to Scotland’s GDP by 2035. The potential is substantial, if the underlying systems are put in place: real‑time aquaculture monitoring, digital‑enabled farming, low‑carbon tourism, connected small businesses - if we choose it.

Energy infrastructure is shifting, too. A £12 billion power grid upgrade programme for central and southern Scotland began in April 2026, delivering new substations and 450 km of upgraded transmission lines. But while the Highlands, Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles are receiving major generation‑driven upgrades through SSEN Transmission, they still lack the demand‑driven capacity now being built in the south. The next Scottish Parliament must extend this ambition northwards so that the regions with the greatest renewable potential can not only export power but fully support their own communities, industries, and long‑term economic growth.

A housing system designed for rural reality

Updated Local Housing Strategy guidance (March 2026) marks a shift: housing in rural and island areas is now recognised as essential to national priorities. But more change is needed. The next Parliament must remove urban‑centric standards that make rural housing unaffordable or impractical, and empower local authorities to design solutions that work for their communities.

Scotland can lead the world in circular marine innovation

Our biggest opportunity may be the one we have not yet seized. Scotland currently exports most of its waste plastics, including aquaculture and fishing gear, due to limited domestic processing. National studies show that Scotland lacks the infrastructure to recover and reprocess end‑of‑life gear at scale.

By any reasonable measure, this is a significant industrial opportunity. A modern Scottish plastics circularity programme could deliver high‑value rural manufacturing jobs, exportable recycling technologies, reduced marine pollution, and a genuine circular economy rooted in coastal and island regions.

With investment and coordination, Scotland can move from exporting waste to exporting innovation.

Scotland’s next parliament can deliver a rural renaissance

If the Parliament commits to:

• fixed links for island connectivity
• universal rural 5G and full‑fibre deployment
• demand-driven grid upgrades reaching the Highlands and Islands
• housing reform aligned to rural realities
• a national plastics circularity programme

…then Scotland will not simply catch up. We will lead.

Rural Scotland is ready. The industries are ready. The future is waiting. Let’s choose it.

Tomorrow: A rural renaissance is within reach, but only if Scotland is willing to modernise the sectors that anchor coastal and island economies. Aquaculture – a major employer, a major export and a global growth industry – is central to that future. Yet it is still governed by frameworks built for another era. The final pre-election article in this series turns to what the next Parliament must do to unlock a new phase for aquaculture and ensure it becomes a driver of rural prosperity rather than a casualty of outdated regulation.