£250,000 grant towards Lews Castle grounds regeneration
21 June 2016
The HES cash is half of what was sought from the agency and is earmarked for restoring the Porter’s Lodge, the Boatman's House and the crumbling sea wall.
Further funding is required for the overall £5.5 million project to restore important historic features, including the formal gardens, improve access, enhance maintenance and provide new facilities to allow people to enjoy the outstanding public park.
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has awarded a £250,000 grant towards a major regeneration plan for the Lews castle grounds in Stornoway.
The HES cash is half of what was sought from the agency and is earmarked for restoring the Porter’s Lodge, the Boatman's House and the crumbling sea wall.
Further funding is required for the overall £5.5 million project to restore important historic features, including the formal gardens, improve access, enhance maintenance and provide new facilities to allow people to enjoy the outstanding public park.
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is giving a £3.9 million grant while £321,600 is coming from community landowner, the Stornoway Trust, for the ambitious project.
The comhairle has agreed to put £250,000 into the regeneration works, provided all match funding from other bodies is approved and an overall satisfactory funding package is in place. The council has also invested significant resources in preparing funding bids for the five year project.
New jobs including head gardener and a park ranger are included in the main scheme in addition to youth opportunities for apprenticeship training in stone masonry and horticulture.
The sea wall (left) requires repair as does the Boatman's House