In 2002 the people of Gigha made the bold and historic move to buy their own island, which was on the market with a price tag of £4 million. Without the support of the Scottish Land Fund their dream of community ownership would not have been realised. John Morrison has been to see a community that is confidently moving forward together thanks to the SLF.

It is not surprising that the islanders investigated the money-making potential of this new type of farming as hundreds of communities across Scotland are going through the same process. What is astonishingly different in Gigha is that the people embraced the small wind farm unanimously and erected the turbines with no siren voices raised against them.

At 10.30 in the morning Kenny Robison is busy cleaning machinery with a power hose in the yard of his dairy farm. A hard worker with a strong handshake, Kenny does not like windmills. He cannot understand those, apparently including the local artist on the island, who find them graceful and aesthetically pleasing. Throughout the weeks when the community debated whether to build three turbines Kenny told anyone who listened that he would be voting against, but gradually he changed his mind. He said, “In the end it was a simple decision because of the economics. The island has made a profit of £100,000 in the first year. I couldn’t vote against that sort of money and the benefit to the community. But I still don’t like them.”

The three turbines have become a symbol of how the common good can prevail when everyone benefits through community ownership. It was not always like this. When the last landlord, Derek Holt, placed Gigha on the open market for £4 million, even the most optimistic of the islanders must have thought a community buy out was impossible. Where could they possibly get that sort of money? A succession of landlords had come and gone, usually picking up a tidy profit when they sold. Although they owned everything on the island, from people’s homes to the hotel, most of these land speculators refused to invest in the infrastructure. “God’s island” may be a place of breathtaking beauty with its white sandy beaches, lush green fields and clear blue seas but its history in the last half of the 20th century was not a happy one.

After decades of neglect, a survey in 2002 found that 75% of the houses were below tolerable standard, and the rest were in a serious state of disrepair. The hotel would not have been out of place in Fawlty Towers and the farms were so rundown half could not attract a tenant. At that time Kenny Robison feared for his own and everyone else’s future. He said; “Things were so awful. I’m surprised there were 94 people left. Confidence was rock bottom.”

However, community leaders did emerge. Indomitable characters like Willie McSporran, who achieved fame throughout the country partly because of his wonderful surname, but also because of the unique way he got his point across through a combination of colourful expressions, straight talking and a charming island way of treating everyone, whatever their status, in exactly the same manner.

With Willie at the helm the islanders began to organise themselves. Political support was sought and received. Advisers, who had helped communities like Assynt in the northwest Highlands achieve their dream of community ownership, were appointed. A fact-finding team went to the island of Eigg to see what people could achieve when they were freed to make decisions about their own lives, instead of being dictated to by landlords such as the bizarre German fire-eating artist called Maruma. When they returned this team played a critical role in convincing the more reluctant islanders that self-determination was the way forward, but still the asking price was a major stumbling block.

However, help was at hand. The Scottish Land Fund, which was set up by the Scottish Executive in 2001 to help communities take charge of their own assets, provided £3.5 million to the Gigha fund. The rest of the cash was raised through community efforts and donations. In the five years of its existence the Fund helped change the pattern of land ownership in rural Scotland, spending £14 million of lottery money to help to bring 173,000 acres of land under community ownership or management. When it was wound up earlier this year, to be replaced by the Growing Community Assets Fund, the chairman said its biggest achievement was the role it played in securing Gigha for the community.

Four years after the buy out Gigha is a very different place. Eighteen energy-efficient homes have been built in a £3 million development funded by the Scottish Executive. New houses have allowed the population to increase to more than 120 and the number of kids in the school has trebled, from 7 at the time of the buy out to 21.

Lorna Andrew, one of the new arrivals, left Gigha at 12 to go to high school in Oban before going on to Glasgow University and settling in the city. The opportunity for Lorna to return to the island came when the Trust advertised for an administration officer. She said: “Previously opportunities like this did not exist. The only jobs available were in the hotel and that didn’t suit me.” Lorna said that the most obvious change to the island since the buy out has been the change in the community’s outlook. “People are more optimistic and feel like they have some control over what happens on the island and are willing to take responsibility for it. Visual changes include the windmills and the new housing, but I think the main difference is in the feel of the place. It’s less depressed and less bleak. There is a new optimism and people are looking forward to the future.”

Lorna is not the only graduate to return. Two young men who finished University last year have opened a café bar in the former boathouse with a heavy emphasis on local produce. It has become a popular place for locals and visitors to eat and drink and in the evenings they can listen to live music.

On the wall of the café a poster advertises the two-day Isle of Gigha music festival, which is now an annual event. Earlier in the year the island held its first ever half marathon. The summer saw a highly competitive raft race followed by a BBQ and there are regular body max classes in the local hall.

In other rural places none of this would be remarkable but in Gigha each event, no matter how small, is hugely significant. This is a community that is learning how to enjoy itself again. Without the vibrancy and enthusiasm of the young people this would not have happened so quickly. And without the buy out the young people would not have returned.

Willie McSporran, who still chairs the Trust, is delighted with everything that is happening around him and attributes it all to one key factor. He said; “If it wasn’t for the Scottish Land Fund we would not have been able to bid for the island and none of this would have happened.”

Further Information:

Courtesy of Scottish Government - Scotland.org .

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