Scottish Islands Explorer - November-December 2016

12 SCOTTISH ISLANDS EXPLORER

Who are we?

The Pairc Trust completed purchase of the Pairc Estate

on behalf of the local community in December 2015.

The Estate extends to an area of approximately

10,840ha in South Lochs, on the Isle of Lewis. It is a

remote and rurally isolated area of the Western Isles,

with a population of 400, and is 30 miles from

Stornoway, the only large town in the Outer Hebrides.

The Trust aims to regenerate the Pairc Estate, by

providing affordable good quality accommodation,

employment, community facilities and services.

The Trust employs two full-time members of staff: a

Development Manager and an Administrative Assistant

who are both based in the Pairc Trust Office in the

Kershader Resource Centre, South Lochs.

There are seven directors who have a wide range of

experience and skills. The minutes of their regular board

meetings are published on the Pairc Trust website.

What do we do?

The five areas of prospective development have the

potential to contribute towards the economic growth

of the area and provide an income for the Trust.

• Tourism: looking into how we can make the Estate
  more attractive to visitors by working in partnership
  with local groups and businesses.


• Housing: providing additional and affordable
  housing to members of the community.


• Renewable Energy: investigating potential opportu-
  nities for renewable energy development.


• Resource Centre in Kershader: purchasing the
  building in order to provide a base for charities and
  community groups.
  
  
  • Crofting Administration: bringing the crofting files
    in-house and taking over the administration from
    the factors of the Estate.
  
  
  
  

We are setting up working groups for each of the areas

and welcome members of the community to join.

In order to make the area more attractive to visitors,

we are going to improve the walkway between

Orinsay and the deserted village of Steimreway

(pictured above). This is a very popular facility with

locals and visitors alike.

In order to make these improvements we have

successfully applied for funding from Tesco Bags of

Help, and local customers can vote for our project in

Stornoway’s Tesco between 31 October to 13

November 2016

More information about the funding can be found

at http://www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp

Ways to get involved

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 01851 880 728

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaircTrust

Website: http://www.pairctrust.co.uk

If you live locally you can complete a Pairc

Residents’ Survey online through the link on

our website or contact us for a paper copy. We

are always happy to meet with

individuals or groups. If you

would like to discuss anything,

please feel free to get in touch.

The

Pairc Trust