Ionad Hiort – the proposed St Kilda Centre in the Uig area of Lewis – has obtained full planning permission and its promoters now face the challenge of ensuring it is built.
The project received an extremely positive environmental impact report which concluded that it could support 75 jobs once fully operational and “play an important role in combating depopulation”.
Ionad Hiort, the independent report by consultants Biggar Economics said, will be “more than a tourism project” and “offers a strong contribution to nine of Scotland’s national outcomes”.
The chairman of Ionad Hiort, Iain Buchanan, described the achievement of detailed planning consent as “a huge milestone” while recognising the scale of the challenge that still lies ahead.
Mr Buchanan paid tribute to “the officers of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, directly involved with Ionad Hiort, whose unfailing commitment has been crucial in getting us to this stage”.
He also called on the Scottish Government to review its approach to funding projects in peripheral areas, as part of any strategy to reverse depopulation and cultural decline.
“It is exceptionally difficult”, he said, “for a voluntary organisation in a fragile community to put together the jigsaw of funding that is required – multiple funds with different criteria and timescales, all involving enormous amounts of work.
“The original recognition by public bodies that this was a project of local, national and international significance was not accompanied by any guarantees of funding and these challenges still have to be overcome”.
Mr Buchanan pointed out that it is now almost a decade since the World Heritage Centre of UNESCO endorsed Ionad Hiort as an exemplar project for creating “remote access” to fragile World Heritage Sites globally. It was hoped this would lead to similar recognition of its significance from both Scottish and UK governments. He added: “That is still our hope”.
The project had its origins in the St Kilda Opera, a project led by Malcolm Maclean when he was director of the National Gaelic Arts Agency. This led to a contest promoted by four public bodies – the Comhairle, HIE, SNH and Visit Scotland, along with the National Trust for Scotland, – to identify the best location. The Geodha Sgoilt site in Uig emerged as their unanimous choice.
Since then, however, it has been left in the hands of a voluntary local committee to drive the project forward, supported by consultants engaged with significant funding from HIE and the Comhairle. The land was donated by the former owners of Uig and Hamnaway Estate.
The report by Biggar Economics concluded: “Ionad Hiort is more than a tourism project,
seeking to not only establish itself as a world-
“Ionad Hiort was conceived and developed by local volunteers and receives substantial support from within the local community. The project is directed and controlled entirely by local people, and is designed to support the economic and cultural survival of one of Scotland’s most fragile rural communities.
“This assessment has considered the contributions Ionad Hiort could make to the five pillars of Community Wealth Building and has found that the contribution is likely to be substantial, particularly to the pillars relating to ownership, employment, land use and supply chains.
“Ionad Hiort also offers a strong contribution to nine of Scotland’s national outcomes. This contribution is particularly strong for the outcomes relating to communities, culture, economy and fair work and business, but is also significant in relation to the outcomes relating to children and young people, international, human rights, education, and the environment”.
The architects for Ionad Hiort are Skye-
Rory Flyn, director at Dualchas Architects said “We are delighted that The St Kilda Centre has received planning permission after many years of development. It is a challenging site but an inspiring brief; one that requires a solution that is both pragmatic and poetic.
“The story of St Kilda is one that resonates not just for the communities of the Western Isles, but peripheral communities everywhere across the world. We have enjoyed working with our Norwegian partners and the wider design team to create this unique clifftop visitor centre. We hope that it will be a dramatic visitor destination as well as an important resource for the community”
Project managers in the pre-
Mr Buchanan said that “a fantastic, creative team of international standing” had been assembled to get to this stage thanks to continuing support from the Comhairle and HIE. He also paid tribute to the dedication of board members of Ionad Hiort over the years and to “the patience of the local community”.
Planning approval for St Kilda Centre
6 September 2024