​Langass Woods

Urras nan Craobh Uibhist an Tuath (The North Uist Woodlands Trust) manage the community owned woodland at Langass.  The woodlands trust secured grant funding from LEADER, Awards for All and from the Comhairle's Community Regeneration Fund to enhance Langass Woodlands and create better access in and out of the woodlands by developing better paths and a looped walk.  Langass Woods with Hercules the Bear statue is now a community and visitor attraction.

North Uist Development Company provided support in the early days of the project.   https://www.facebook.com/LangassWoodland/
The Udal Project - A Walking Tour Through The Ages

​NUDC was always interested in unlocking the potential of the Udal peninsula and its wonderful archaeological sites; bringing benefits to the local communities at Grenitote and Sollas.  NUDC collaborated with the Comhairle and Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath (CEUT) to create an audio tour App: providing visitors with interpretation on sites and the wider environmental setting. The App is available free to download here.  Interest points trigger automatically on the visitors' device using its GPS signal.

The App itself was created by CMC Associates, who also assisted CEUT to develop digital resources. Further information can be found on their website. 

Udal is an important archaeological site to the north of Grenitote.  The site was excavated by Ian Crawford over a period of 33 years. The resulting collection is now the responsibility of CnES.  Previously, NUDC collaborated on the idea for a Hebridean Archaeological and Environmental Research Centre (HAERC) based in Uist, which aimed to exhibit the collection.  

The feasibility study for the HAERC, published December 2015, by consultants EKOS is available to view by following this link.  This report comprises the Phase 2 research output from a feasibility study on the development of the Hebridean Archaeology and Environmental Research Centre – HAERC – proposed for North Uist.  Although HAERC did not proceed, NUDC believes the Uists have an incredibly rich resource in its environment, and has much to offer the rest of Europe as a “barometer” of climate change.  With some 9,000 years of human occupation, 70% of the world’s machair and Scotland’s best saline lagoons NUDC has continued to pursue the prospect of an environmental centre attraction in the Lochmaddy School project.

Background Information:
  1. The Udal peninsula is situated on the north coast of North Uist.
  2. Beginning in the 1960s, based on the early 20th century publication by Erskine Beveridge about North Uist, Iain Crawford an archaeologist and historian (School of Scottish Studies) identified the Udal as a site for investigating the history and continuity of settlement on the west coast of Scotland. Excavations of 3 sites continued for the next 35 years.
  3. Crawford insisted that the 3 Udal sites evidenced continuous settlement from the Neolithic period to the 19th century a timeline of 5,000 years. This would make the collection extremely rare if not unique. “Arguably the most consequential site in Europe in terms of extent, depth and complexity of deposits and artefact retrieval, its importance to Scottish History in particular and archaeology in general cannot be overstated” The Udal Project design document – Iain Crawford.
  4. The collection has been allocated  to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar through Treasure Trove.
  5. The results of Crawford’s excavations were never published, however the analysis techniques we have today did not exist 50 years ago and the fact that the Udal was never published actually presents a very exciting opportunity e.g. a detailed carbon dating programme will enable scientists to tell how the landscape changed throughout the 5,000 years of occupation.

 Local group Access Archaeology has a Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/pages/Access-Archaeology
Lochmaddy Hospital Redevelopment

NUDC spent considerable effort in developing a project to meet the needs of the local community at the old Lochmaddy Hospital site.  However, unfortunately the core aspects of the project proved un-viable, and the board of An Torc Ltd; the community group set up to drive the Lochmaddy Hospital project forward; announced that it was regrettably not able to progress the planned project.  Philip Harding, chair of An Torc Ltd, said: “This project was reliant on commitment from a number of key partners to provide sustainable economic viability in the long term.  Unfortunately not all these partners, for entirely legitimate reasons, have been able to bring the level of commitment to the project which it requires. The seven-strong board has therefore reluctantly come to the conclusion that the envisaged transformational project carries too high a level of risk for a small community group to progress.”  The An Torc board reached its final decision by assistance from a number of co-opted members, as well as the local development officers of North Uist Development Company and the Comhairle’s regeneration officer.

After Lochmaddy Hospital closed in 2000 the property lay empty and was then sold by Western Isles Health Board to London Shetland Securities Ltd in 2008.  The property remained boarded up, derelict, and unoccupied.  Community consultation meetings were held in Lochmaddy during 2012 to see if the community supported the idea of purchasing the land and buildings.  The following community ideas were being pursued and investigated fully during a Stage 1 Feasibility Study, completed in 2014:
  • Student accommodation for c.60 to 75 students on the Lews Castle College Art Course with Taigh Chearsabhagh and, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig residential Gaelic courses.
  • Utilise Lochmaddy School as the educational centre for the arts and Gaelic courses - the hospital and the school could be linked by a new pathway and bridge.
  • Provide housing sites - Hebridean Housing Partnership indicated they would look favourably at building on the site.
  • Small business units for business start-ups and expansion.
  • Renewable energy - potential wind turbine to produce electricity for the site and for export.
  • Tourism - possibility of camping area, hard standings and hook-ups.
Philip Harding stated “I would like to thank the community of North Uist for their support for this project over the last four years and express our regret again that we were not able to bring this to a better conclusion. It is particularly disappointing, as one of the hallmarks of An Torc was that it overcame difficulties - and there were many - as they arose.  I would like to pay tribute to both North Uist Development Company’s local development officers, who provided consistent and superlative support.  I would also like to acknowledge the enormous amount of voluntary work given freely by the directors and co-opted members of An Torc Ltd, as well as the members of the Lochmaddy Hospital Redevelopment Steering Group and previously Ceum air Adhart, for all the work they did to try and get this project off the ground."  
"It would also not have been possible to get as far as we did without the support and guidance provided by The Lottery, HIE and the Comhairle, to whom we are very grateful. The current funders have been supportive of the final decision to withdraw from the project - one of the reasons for terminating now has been to avoid the unnecessary expenditure of further public money on this project. We also received valuable support from the Scottish Government’s ‘Community Right to Buy’ Unit and from Scottish Government ministers - Humza Yousaf MSP in fact visited the site during 2016.  Finally we should acknowledge the interest of Lews Castle College, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and HHP.”

The board of An Torc Ltd were in communication with the owners of the Lochmaddy Hospital site following the decision and the group offered, as a gesture of goodwill, to provide the vendors with some of the plans and drawings which have been created during the course of the project, showing what could potentially be achieved with the building. 

The site has since been purchased by MacInnes Bros Ltd, a local company, and it is understood they are currently developing concepts for the site.
St Kilda Viewpoint 

​The Viewpoint is a dry-stone construction on the southwestern slopes of South Clettraval in North Uist, next to the military road, and provides binoculars and a panel with viewpoint indicators for visitors towards the Monach Islands and St Kilda beyond. 

It was developed by the North Uist Partnership, the precursor to NUDC, and has been managed by NUDC.  It was officially opened in 2009.
North Uist Development Company, Claddach Kirkibost Centre, Isle of North Uist, HS6 5EP.; [email protected]
Company No. SC383175; Charity No. SC041709​