Staffin Community Trust was delighted to hand over the keys to its new tenants who now have moved into the harbour business units.
Several businesses and organisations are now leasing Staffin Harbour’s attractive coloured units, which have provided a major boost to Skye’s most economically fragile community.
The units are the new base for a boat tours business, and a bike hire and training centre; salmon farming; scallop diving; a boat engineer and boat builder and Gaelic education outdoor activities. There is also a popular sauna based on Staffin Community Trust’s (SCT) onshore area.
The harbour is now home to nine different businesses, with 16 jobs supported.
Staffin Harbour manager Lachie Gillies said: “Our tenants moving in is a huge milestone in the harbour’s development. We’re now able to supply business units and this is creating and supporting jobs and businesses. The rent also brings in much needed revenue for SCT so we can manage and maintain the harbour sustainably.”
SCT board member Angus Ross said: "The directors of SCT are delighted that the investment in the infrastructure of Staffin Harbour has enabled a diverse range of business opportunities that benefit the local and wider community with a minimum of 16 jobs."
Staffin Harbour was bought by the community trust from Highland Council and Scottish Ministers last year.
Major capital works have been delivered at the harbour by SCT with the public road extensively upgraded and a large onshore area built using 20,000 tonnes of rock. For the first time in its history the harbour now has a live electricity supply, a new water connection and a facilities building with showers and toilets is also currently under construction.
Thanks
SCT is grateful to the suppliers and the efforts of our contractors involved in the construction works including Shufflebottom Ltd, Eyre Plant Hire, Craik & MacRae, MH Steel, R Gillies Electrical, Agri-Fabs, Norman Shanks Builder and DA Gillies. Special mention to Rebecca Fraser of the Lochaber-based legal firm Twin Deer Law who has worked on the various leases.
The support received from funders - including Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Land Fund, the Scottish Government's Regeneration Capital Grant Fund, Islands Programme, Maritime Fisheries Fund, Fisheries Harbours Assistance, Highland Council’s Community Regeneration Fund, Organic Sea Harvest, Social Enterprise Scotland and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund – has been absolutely crucial to the development’s progress.
SCT has also been supported by the Skye Highland ward councillors, led by area committee chairman John Finlayson, and by the efforts of our constituency MSP Kate Forbes and her team over a number of years. The backing of the Scottish Ministers' estate factor Ewen MacPherson and the shareholders of the Garafad township has been instrumental in developing the harbour for our community.
Meet the Tenants
Boat engineer James Jagger is renting a unit with colleague Gareth Samuel, a traditional boat builder. “Until Staffin Harbour became available there were no other facilities on the island accessible and the only options for larger boat repair were mainland-based yards,” he said. “This always involved many hours traveling and ultimately more expense for the owners. Staffin has already been invaluable for repairs and servicing this year because of its haulage trailer and hardstanding area and the new workshop we are renting will only enhance this.”
James Cameron, owner of Skye Scallop Divers, said: “This unit has provided an exciting opportunity to grow our fishing business, making it more sustainable while also allowing us to keep more of our product within the local economy.”
Alex MacInnes, a director of aquaculture company Organic Sea Harvest, which is leasing two units, said: “The new harbour sheds will allow OSH to facilitate their operations from one location beside the harbour and slipway, making it easier to manage and control our technical equipment and consumables. Between the new sheds and our existing offices at Taighean a’ Chaiseil, we have created a nice, new and more comfortable environment for staff and visitors.”
SCT has also warmly welcomed the arrival of Spòrs Gàidhlig, the national agency delivering outdoor activities in Gaelic for children across Scotland. Staffin’s appeal as a community where the language is still very much in everyday use and its proximity to the sea and Trotternish Ridge was crucial, said instructor Coinneach MacFhraing.
“Taking on this new unit in Staffin is a huge development for Spòrs Gàidhlig’s operations,” he said “It provides us with a focused space to store equipment and conduct training, close to exceptional venues for climbing, hillwalking, and watersports.
“Beyond that, moving our base to Trotternish places Spòrs Gàidhlig at the heart of one of the strongest Gaelic-speaking communities, which we view as being critical in our providing meaningful and positive outdoor experiences in the language for young people from across Scotland. Being situated in Skye also presents unique opportunities for engaging in commercial outdoor work, thereby diversifying Spòrs Gàidhlig’s income streams and ensuring the enterprise is sustainable for years to come.”
Andi Dunkel, of Skye Xplorer Boat Tours, said: “Our shed at Staffin Harbour gives us a base right where we belong — part of a community-led business hub, surrounded by sea, sky, and the wild beauty of Skye’s north end.”
Aside from the new units, locals and visitors have also relished vising the new Staffin Sea Sauna. Owner Simon Hammond said: “The harbour offers the Staffin Sea Sauna a perfect combination of landscape, seascape, infrastructure, community spirit and support. It is a social hub, an alternative meeting place with health, wellbeing and the simple feeling of joy at its core. It already brings together local residents, the wider Skye community and visitors from far and wide.”
