The highlights of a trip to Tiree

It’s always good to get out of the office on area visits. This time it was to the Isle of Tiree, the outer-most of the Inner Hebrides.

I’ve been well aware of our involvement in this island over many years and the extent to which the local community has been taking forward projects to address some of the island’s opportunities and challenges.

I was about to find out just how significant these projects are and the difference they’re making.

First stop was Glasgow Airport where I met up with Morag Goodfellow our area manager for Argyll and the Islands and Peter McDonald, one of our area team colleagues. We caught a flight to Tiree, during which we were treated to stunning views over parts of mainland Argyll, as well as Mull and Iona.

On arrival we were met by Phyl Meyer general manager of the Tiree Community Development Trust and board member Martin Finnigan. They very kindly acted as our hosts and provided great insight into the work of the Trust in addressing some of the big challenges facing the community.

Housing is a big issue, as it is for pretty much the entire region of the Highlands and Islands. Tiree has the added challenge of more than 40% of homes being second or holiday homes.

Visitor accommodation is of course vital to tourism, which is an important part of the area’s economy, but it can also create challenges for local people trying to secure permanent accommodation.

The Trust is looking to help address this through an initiative that could see more than a dozen homes developed for rent to residents.

Phyl showed us the affectionately named ‘Tilley’ wind turbine, on our way to visit Milton Harbour. Back in 2020 we were able to support the Trust’s subsidiary, Tiree Community Maritime Assets Ltd (TCMA), with a £1.6m refurbishment of the harbour.

We met Neil MacPhail, TCMA Board member, and it was great to hear from him just how valuable the refurbished harbour has been.

Seeing the island’s only filling station was another important visit. This was developed by the Community Trust with HIE support after the original filling station closed and now includes an electric vehicle charging point.

We had also supported a community-led project to develop new business units, so it was great to meet the tenants and hear how the units are helping business and community development.

Next it was a chat with Daniel Gillespie of Skerryvore at the Tiree Music Festival’s newly acquired store, before heading to the local gym.

Tiree Community Gym (TCG) is a community interest company. We worked with the group earlier in the year and provided funding for alterations to the gym room and to buy equipment.

We met Rosie Garrigan, director of TCG, who explained there are now over 100 members, which is great to hear.

There’s so much happening in Tiree to strengthen the community and local economy. In addition to all the examples above, the community is working on a solar PV project, to continue to generate income from renewables. It’s also particularly pleasing to note that Gaelic features strongly as part of community life.

Challenges remain of course. I heard about the imminent retirement of the local vet and the implications this could have for livestock production. There’s also a shortage of childcare provision, which is so important to a growing economy and something we have been working on with Scottish Government.

The Tiree Community Development Trust will be central to addressing these and other issues and we look forward to continuing our work with them.

Meantime, I want to say a massive thank you to everyone in Tiree who made us feel so welcome and shared insights into some of the great initiatives happening there.