If all goes according to plan, in 2011 the Eday Partnership will take ownership of a 900KW wind turbine and with it an estimated annual income of £120,000 for community investment. A good bit of the finance to build the turbine is already in place - and a £1 million bank loan should follow once all the technical negotiations are complete. It's an ambitious project for an island with a population of only 150 but when it comes to fruition it will, in the words of partnership chair Clive Brookes, "Put us in control of our own destiny".
Eday is one of the North Isles of Orkney and has a tradition of fending for itself: the only shop on the island has been community owned for more than two decades and many other services are run by local groups. The wind turbine project however, is on a much bigger scale than anything attempted so far and will be operated by a subsidiary company of the Eday Partnership.
The Eday Partnership was formed after the island was selected to become one of the "Initiative at the Edge" areas in 2004. It is a social enterprise which operates as a Company Limited by Guarantee. Although there were a lot of voluntary associations already on the island, most activists acknowledged there was a high level of "volunteer fatigue". Everyone agreed that a new partnership, with a development worker and a co-ordinating role, could give the island a boost.
This partnership approach has proved highly effective, particularly at helping organisations secure grants for capital developments: in just a few years there has been a major upgrade to the hostel, the old Baptist Church has been converted to create a heritage/visitor centre, and a new slipway has been built. On top of that, the community shop, hostel and heritage centre each own a small wind turbine to power their premises and generate some cash.
The partnership itself has also grown and employs several specialist staff, including a ranger to promote the environment of the island and a powerdown officer to reduce carbon emissions. However, while the partnership has been excellent at attracting grants, the economy of the island is still fragile and employment opportunities few and far between. The next challenge says Clive, "Is to create real and meaningful employment for people". This is not just about how to develop the economy of the island, but how to sustain key partnership staff once grant funding ends. Clive says, "We all need to become a lot more business-minded".
This process has already started. In summer 2010 the partnership carried out a pilot "fast boat" project: the aim was to test the market for a fast and more direct service between Eday and its neighbours. Clive says, "It's a fantastic little vessel and everyone who used it thought it was terrific fun. We're number crunching at the moment but my gut instinct is this will be do-able as a business". There have been some other spin-offs from the project: over the summer the ranger included a trip on the new boat as one of her guided trips which meant visitors could get a view of the island from the sea, spot porpoises and seals, and get a look at the European Marine Energy Centre's test site. There is a lot of potential for this kind of small scale tourist related activity - with the heritage centre, fast boat, hostel and the ranger all working together to design and market services.
The move from grant based projects to income generating enterprises is a major challenge. Chessa Llewellyn-White from HIE says, "The fast boat pilot has been a lot of work for the partnership. They've had to deal with complex cash flows, and it's been a bit of an eye-opener for them really". When the new turbine comes on stream and starts generating cash, the challenges will get even bigger. A key priority from HIE's point of view has been to help the partnership develop the organisational capacity to cope with this change of scale and emphasis.
Chessa says, "We've been providing advice about company structures; how to separate the income generating side from the charitable side, and helping them with processes and systems. They are going to have a commercial loan to repay on the turbine and the board will need good financial reports. They're also going to need transparent systems for dealing with the cash once it starts to come in". However, as she says, "This is a very can-do group of people. They have no shortage of ideas for the future".
The support given by HIE to the partnership over the years has been wide ranging and in Clive's words, "It's really good to know they are there!" He says, "They've been enormously helpful and given enormous support. They gave money for the development post - without Kate as our development worker we'd be lost - and they are always there as a sounding board. I always know I can phone Chessa if I'm having a bad day!"
Business information (figures correct as of 12 January 2011):
- Employees: 3 (FTEs)
- Assets: Office (Portacabin), 20 year lease on Gateway House, lease of Fast Boat
For further information visit www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/EDAY/ or call HIE's Orkney area office on 01856 874638
