A £750,000 grant has been awarded to convert the former Bragar primary school into a community and tourism hub.
The school on the west side of Lewis closed in 2012 and was taken into community ownership two years later by Urras Coimhearsnachd Bhradhagair agus Arnoil (Bragar and Arnol Community Trust).
The Big Lottery Fund award will be used to provide both community and tourism services in an energy efficient manner.
The group plan to refurbish the building to include a café, kitchen, community space, exhibition space and a 10 bed hostel.
Urras chair, Catriona Campbell, said: “We have been running very successful community services, classes and events from our building, the old Bragar School, for some years now.
“The building needs repair and after consulting with the community we drew up plans for renovations which would not only give us a well insulated ‘green’ building, but also allow us to offer services to the growing tourism market, so bringing more benefit to the West Side.
The refurbished ‘Grinneabhat Taigh Cèilidh’ will be first and foremost a community
resource, but it will also invite the wider world in -
Isles MSP Alasdair Allan previously wrote in support of the project and met with
the trust.
Mr Allan commented: “I know the benefit such an ambitious project will bring to the local community, and I know that there is a strong desire amongst the residents to ensure that the building, where many generations of the community were educated, should continue to be used as a community asset.
“This is really positive step forward for the project and I congratulate the group on getting this successful award.”
Lottery grant to renovate community hub
16 January 2018