Carloway Community Centre Redevelopment

Aim

We are looking for your help to raise funds for the redevelopment of Carloway Community Centre and the former Carloway school buildings.

We have ambitious plans to refurbish the Carloway Community Centre and former Carloway primary school.

Background 

Carloway Community Association (CCA) built the Carloway Community Centre in 1981 and has managed it on behalf of the community since. Following a long community led campaign to keep it open, the adjoining Carloway Primary School closed in 2013. With support from the Scottish Land Fund we were able to purchase the building from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar in May 2017. Since then we have been working with the local community to develop plans to redevelop the site.

 What problems are we trying to address?

Carloway Primary School was at the core of our community since it opened in 1882. Our plans to redevelop the buildings will make it the heart of our community once again; it will be a place to meet people, socialise and act as a catalyst for further economic development in our area.

The Carloway area has seen a gradual decline in services over the years. The lack of services can make it difficult for people to live in our area, particularly for members of our community who do not have access to transport. The 34 mile round trip to access basic services in Stornoway can present a real barrier. We want to do something about this and provide more services in our community so that people don't have to travel long distances.

We not only want to create local jobs and make our community more economically sustainable, we also want to make it a greener place to live and reduce the carbon footprint of our building.

 What are we going to do?

We plan to refurbish the main school building and the adjacent community centre. The old canteen building will be demolished and the grounds landscaped to provide extra space for car parking and green areas. The Annex building at the roadside is not included in this refurbishment but we hope to include it in a future phase of the development.

The floor plan above shows what we are hoping to achieve with the redevelopment. The main school building will be transformed into a community shop, with flexible use community space and offices. Please note that although the plans currently show a café space, we expect this to also be part of the shop. The plans also include a permanent home for Comann Eachdraidh Chàrlabhaigh, our local historical society, and includes a small exhibition space. The upstairs of the schoolhouse will be extended to provide office space for Urras Oighreachd Chàrlabhaigh, our local community landowner.  Finally, the existing community hall will be refurbished and a commercial kitchen will be installed.

What difference will it make?

The community shop will be at the centre of the redevelopment, it will act as a focal point in the community and provide an essential service to local residents and visitors. The shop will also support local producers and will source produce from local crofters, growers and fishing boats.

The community kitchen will enable us to cater for large community events in the hall and also supply the shop with home cooked ready meals, along with hot filled rolls and sandwiches. The refurbished hall will provide a comfortable space for community events and for indoor sports.

The rental of office space is also an important part of the project. We have a close working relationship with Urras Oighreachd Chàrlabhaigh and we are looking forward to cementing that relationship by providing them with a permanent home in the redeveloped centre. We also hope to explore the possibility of renting space to public sector organisations. While this rental income is very important to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the project it will also help promote partnership working between us and other local organisations.

Why do we need your help?

We have worked hard over the past eight years since the school closed to develop our plans for the redevelopment of the school. 

After several cost reduction exercises we finally feel we have a set of plans which are both cost effective and deliver on what our community has asked for. Our construction contract is now being tendered with a closing date of 15th February. This gives us one last opportunity to raise the final funding required to enable us to deliver the project.

We are very grateful to our funders who have understood and supported what we are trying to achieve with the project. These include the Scottish Government Regeneration Capital Grant Fund with a commitment of just under £467,000, Highlands and Islands Enterprise with £200,000, The Robertson Trust £130,000, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Crown Estate Fund £32,000 and the Scottish Landfill Fund with £20,000.

The funding secured to date takes our total to £864,000 just shy of our £996,000 target. While we are still actively seeking funds which we hope will take us closer to our target, we are now looking for some help from you.

Since taking ownership of the school building the community has raised thousands of pounds each year just to pay the running costs which has only been possible through our volunteer run Café Central, our Bazaar pre-loved charity shop, and from rental income. We have managed to set aside £15,000 to contribute to the capital project and would like to increase that as much as possible through this Crowdfunder campaign.

Any contribution large or small will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read about our plans. We hope that you are as excited about the project as we are!

If you would like more information about the project please email Local Development Officer, Donald MacKinnon on [email protected] or phone 07767360142 or visit our new website www.carlowaycommunity.com

Volunteers at another successful Café Central  

The annual Over 60s Christmas Dinner in 2019. The 2020 dinner was delivered ready to eat to comply with covid restrictions. A great volunteer effort!

This project successfully funded on 26th February 2021