Heritage site comes back to life in the Western Isles

Background

Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn (UOG) was established in September 2004 to purchase and manage the Galson Estate for and on behalf of the community. The Galson Estate is a 56,000-acre estate of coast, agricultural land, and moor in the Northwest of the Isle of Lewis. UOG undertakes all the responsibilities of a community landlord and seeks development opportunities to achieve sustainability for future generations. Since their inception, UOG has worked on numerous local development projects and has several strategic priorities, including the care and well-being of local people, tourism, crofting and land use, and community cohesion.

Project

In February 2022, the organisation received a grant from Crown Estate Scotland’s Community Capacity Fund to support a tourism regeneration project to regenerate and repurpose the historic Butt of Lewis lighthouse complex. The lighthouse complex was built in 1862 and is situated on the most northerly point of Lewis. A 'Grade A' listed building, UOG took over ownership of the site in 2007, and since then, the organisation has held a longstanding ambition to redevelop the lighthouse. In the last few years, visitor numbers have steadily increased, and this project aimed to proactively assess the options to sensitively develop the headland so that vehicle numbers can be managed and visitor experience optimised. Project activities included a community consultation exercise, business and design plans and the review of a tourism strategy.

The project commenced in March 2022. Despite some setbacks with project timescales, the organisation acquired technical services to generate a development proposal for the lighthouse, including a design appraisal. Initial design proposals offer a robust and carefully balanced approach to bringing these historic buildings back to life and generating major economic benefits for North Lewis. These are based on similar initiatives at other community-run Lighthouse locations across Scotland as a starting point, and further research is required to refine the proposals for maximum impact. A clear recommendation is that a hostel/self-catering room rental and daytime café offer would work well within the current building complex and could be supplemented with pods, additional day-tripper facilities, and sensitively designed parking.

Equipped with these large-scale designs, a mini exhibition of the proposals was made available for the public and potential partners in October 2022. Around 80 survey questionnaires were completed during this period. Respondents were generally highly supportive and provided various constructive comments and suggestions. Based on the figures, 97% of respondents indicated they highly supported the design proposals and were glad to see the building being put back into use.

Impact

Thanks to the tenacity and enthusiasm of this community group, the Butt of Lewis lighthouse is one step closer to being resurrected. Regionally, the project meets three Outer Hebrides Community Planning Partnership’s Local Outcomes Improvement Plan priorities and fits all five key approaches in the local authority’s Outer Hebrides Creative and Cultural Industries Strategy.

Looking to the future, UOG will aim to conduct a marketing analysis and review a tourism strategy for North Lewis. The organisation plans to use an experienced tourism expert who understands the Highlands and Islands. It is hoped that this could lead to future funding for construction and development.

Crown Estate Scotland recognises the immense value of heritage sites across Scotland, and this project is an important example of how historic structures can thrive and be used in modern Scotland.

If you are interested in learning more about this project, have a look at the following links:

Galson Estate Website 

Image courtesy of the Northern Lighthouse Board