Lews Castle redevelopment

The delayed opening of the revamped Lews Castle is due to take place early next year.

The formal opening ceremony is earmarked for February, when the senior politician invited to cut the ribbon will be available, Hebrides News understands.

Meanwhile, the development of the new museum and archive centre in an extension to the castle is on course.

However, a commercial kitchen, café and bar on the ground floor of the castle has not yet been installed.

Graham Construction won the £3.5 fit-out contract which also includes converting the upstairs floors into a hotel and luxury apartments.

A £3.2 million cash shortfall which threatened the latter stages of the redevelopment has been plugged, allowing the work to finally get underway.

A legal row over the council's decision to lease the hotel to Natural Retreats is still to be decided by the courts.

The Comhairle’s heritage staff relocated to the new building during the summer and, working with specialist contractors, are in the final stages of preparing and fine-tuning the new galleries for the installation of objects, including six of the Lewis Chessmen from the British Museum.

While the majority of objects will be from the Museum nan Eilean and local collections, nearly a third of objects are on loan from National Museums Scotland, including a spectacular Viking hacksilver hoard and a vintage 1923 Morgan 3-wheeler car which was driven on the islands until the 1950’s.

A council spokesman said: "Work on the castle will be ongoing into 2016 and the opening of the new facilities will be phased around these works.

"The learning and community spaces have already been used for a number of events and will become fully available to schools and other groups from early in the New Year."

The new archive will also open to the public early in the New Year under the direction of newly appointed archivist Seonaid McDonald, formerly the archivist of HBOS at the Museum on the Mound, Edinburgh.

The museum will fully open to the public when the British Museum and National Museums Scotland loan artefacts are in place.

Comhairle leader Angus Campbell who is also chair of the Lews Castle project board said: ‘This is a hugely exciting and important project for the Comhairle and the community.

The Comhairle’s heritage Team is working with a range of specialists and national partners to complete the development.

"There are stringent conditions attached to the long-term loan of priceless objects and we are enhancing certain aspects of our security system to achieve best practice."

Lews Castle redevelopment is on course

27 October 2015