Community centre work starts in major boost for villages

Work has begun on a vital new community centre for the Bays of Harris area of the Western Isles following approval of a £45,200 grant from Western Isles Enterprise.

It is hoped that the £254,150 scheme will be completed in September, giving around 400 people in communities from Direcleit to Rodel - an Iomairt aig an Oir area (IaaO) - a chance to start developing community activities at the Leacklee centre.

The project has been organised by the Bays of Harris Association, a community grouping set up under IaaO, through the Bays of Harris Charitable Trust which will be responsible for operating the centre.

The centre will provide facilities to allow a limited range of indoor sports; a café including a youth café; space for evening classes and social functions; space for a historical society display; and a telecottage/office.

There will be a games area outside the hall and consultation is taking place with local young people about the exact details of the provision which can be made at the centre.

The area is devoid of facilities for community meetings and events and it is hoped that after an initial two-year period the hall will be self-financing.

Two schools have closed in the area in recent years but studies showed that these buildings could not be easily redeveloped so a new building on a site central to the area was the best choice.

A contribution to the hall’s revenue is hoped to come from a wind-turbine which will provide power for under-floor central heating and also sell power to the utility companies through the national grid.

The Bays of Harris Association sees the hall which has taken 30 months to reach this stage as a vital part of a boost to community facilities and life.

It forms part of a wider range of plans throughout the Bays, including additional public toilets; improvements to Drinishader village; renovating a mill and kiln at Flodabay; and a number of developments at Rodel where a feasibility study is being done on a possible craft village project.

The aims of the association and the trust are to ‘alleviate geographical and social isolation, restore a more stable demographic structure, improve community confidence and increase and diversify local economic activity.’ In recent years, with backing from IaaO and WIE, there has been a revival in fishing and aquaculture with investment in piers at Drinishader and Stockinish and in the hatchery at Geocrab.

The area saw a 25 per cent drop in population between 1981 and 1991 which has contributed to a further decline in community services such as schools, shops and post offices. Traditional industries such as crofting and weaving have declined.

It is covered not only by an IaaO/Initiative at the Edge designation but also by a Social Inclusion Partnership fund which aims to help young people in areas where they cannot get easy access to services which are common in more densely populated regions.

The community hall project has been backed by £135,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund; £27,000 from the Social Inclusion Partnership; £41,000 from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar; £5950 of private funding: and £45,200 from WIE.

WIE chief executive Donnie Macaulay said the enterprise company was very pleased to assist a project which would provide a really vital boost to the community activities of an area which had been badly affected by many of the challenges which faced communities in peripheral regions.

"It will be provide a catalyst for the potential regeneration of community life by allowing local groups to meet, sports and social events to take place, and a wide range of other functions including evening classes," Mr Macaulay said.