​Uist needs a chance at the renewables opportunity table

The intervention, with activity in the sector set to increase significantly over the next couple of years, comes with major problems affecting the normal Sound of Harris ferry service. Meanwhile, capacity has been reduced on the Benbecula-Stornoway air service, following a change of operator.

In a formal statement to the Gazette, HITRANS, a forum which brings together local authorities in the Highlands and Islands, said: “Transport should not be a barrier to people from Uist and Barra accessing the new, well-paid jobs that will arise from the major grid upgrades and renewable energy construction programmes centred on Lewis over the coming years. “It is essential that these programmes benefit people and communities across the Western Isles first.”

HITRANS chair, North Uist councillor Uisdean Robertson, said: “There are going to be lots of well paid jobs coming. Why can’t people from Uist and Barra do these jobs rather than workers coming from the mainland? There is no difference apart from connectivity.”

HITRANS was recently successful in securing over £1 million of funding support for a “Transport to Employment” initiative which will be used enable Uist and Barra workers to join the renewables boom.

The formal statement continues: “Working with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the Local Employability Partnership, employers and other partners, we can consider practical measures such as targeted travel assistance, employer-linked transport and mobility credits to help residents access interviews, training and sustained employment.

“Without this support, there is a risk that many of these opportunities will be taken up by an itinerant workforce from elsewhere, when the employment and wider economic benefits could instead be spread across the Western Isles.” HITRANS also said that a solution to the lack of a Sound of Harris service should be an urgent priority: “It underlines the importance of reliable ferry services across both the Sound of Harris and the Sound of Barra. Employment support can address affordability and help coordinate journeys, but it cannot compensate for services that do not operate reliably or at times that meet people’s working patterns.”

In terms of air travel, they said that “internal Western Isles air PSOs” should be looked at. “Taken together, dependable ferry and air links and targeted employment transport support can help people in Uist and Barra take up these opportunities while continuing to live in their own communities.”