St Kilda centre plans

Plans for an iconic, world class visitors’ centre telling the story of St Kilda has reached a crucial milestone with a team recruited to drive the development forward and bid for funding.

The centre would attract thousands of visitors to the Hebrides annually, creating new jobs, providing a huge tourism boost and helping the local economy.

Metaphor, One of Britain’s leading creative design companies, has been appointed to draw up a detailed brief and publish a prospectus to approach potential investors.

St Kilda, the remotest part of the British Isles, lies 41 miles off the Outer Hebrides.

Having enough of the extraordinary harsh life on the rock, its remaining population of 36 was evacuated to the mainland at their own request in 1930.

The archipelago has dual World Heritage status by UNESCO in recognition of its natural and cultural heritage and landscape.

Thousands of tourists want to go to St Kilda but getting there is difficult. Boat trips are often cancelled due to rough seas.

Establishing a visitor centre on the more accessible Western Isles is being led by a community group with the Gaelic name of Ionad Hiort - St Kilda Centre group.

Dramatic cliffs at Mangersta in Uig, Lewis - resembling the wild landscape of St Kilda - will provide a stunning backdrop to the proposed facility which aims to tap into the huge global interest the unique history and heritage of St Kilda.

Iain Buchanan, chairman of Ionad Hiort, said: ‘We are now working with an absolutely outstanding creative team who will help us articulate the vision behind Ionad Hiort and ensure that it becomes a massive asset not just for Uig but for Lewis and the Western Isles as a whole.”

Rachel Morris of Metaphor said they were delighted to have been appointed, and described the cliff-top site identified for the centre as “astonishing”, offering “a major opportunity to create a world-class centre grounded in a universal story.”

The Metaphor team was in Uig at the weekend for the first time since being appointed and will engage closely with the local community.

Rachel MacKenzie of development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) which is funding the brief, said: “The proposals received were of a high standard and the appointment of Metaphor by Ionad Hiort ensures that the creation of a unique visitor experience which reflects the cultural and historic significance of St Kilda is one step closer.”

London-based Metaphor has developed a strong Scottish presence with current projects including eleven new galleries at the National Museum for Scotland in Edinburgh; designing the Scottish Collection for the Scottish National Gallery; and revamping Paisley’s Museum and Art Gallery as part of a bid to become the UK’s City of Culture.

St Kilda centre plans move forward

26 January 2016