Planning consent is key milestone for Ionad Hiort

​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 lies ahead.

He 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 architects for Ionad Hiort are Skye-based Dualchas in partnership with Raulf Ramstad of Norway, who have worked on similar flagship projects in peripheral areas of Scandinavia.

Rory Flyn, director at Dualchas Architects said “We are delighted 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. "

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”.