Latest news with #TrotternishTrust
Scotsman
17-07-2025
- Scotsman
Work to start on new £8m Gaelic centre on Scotland's most visited island
The new centre is projected to bring an economic boost to the island by providing full-time jobs Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Work is to start on a new £8m Gaelic language and culture centre hoped to boost the local economy and preserve culture in a region on Scotland's most visited island. The new centre – Ionad Thròndairnis (Trotternish Centre) – will be built at Flodigarry on the north end of the Trotternish peninsula on the Isle of Skye. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It aims to protect and develop the Gaelic language, provide jobs and encourage young people to stay in the region. A drawing from plans for the new centre | Supplied The building will include a large function hall, classrooms for language, music and heritage education, a library and digital archive and a cafe and restaurant. The community trust behind the development said accommodation will be included onsite for the users of the centre but also to address a chronic shortage of beds in the island region. Trotternish is amongst the most deprived rural areas in Scotland when it comes to measures of income, employment and access to services, according to the Trotternish Trust | Supplied While the area is internationally recognised for dinosaur footprints, with 160 million year old evidence of ornithopods, and its links to Hollywood after being a film location for blockbusters, including Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender and Ridley Scott's Prometheus, the Trotternish Trust said it is among the most deprived areas in rural Scotland when it comes to measures of income, employment and access to services. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad According to the centre's business plan, the development is due to employ 10 full-time staff and provide part-time jobs and seasonal work. Scenery on the Trotternish peninsula | Supplied The Trotternish Trust, behind the development, said it will also prioritise keeping young people in the area. Margaret Nicolson, chairwoman of Ionad Thròndairnis, said: 'Gaelic is still alive as a community language in this area. I can speak Gaelic to many people, every day, in the shops and in the community. 'There are people moving into the community and – although they don't speak it themselves – very often they will send their children to the Gaelic-medium schools, and so I can speak Gaelic to those children. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'This is still a Gaelic community, and the new centre will be a great boost for the language.' She added: 'The new Ionad Thròndairnis will provide a great economic boost. 'It will provide around ten new full-time jobs, which is very big in rural Skye, and further seasonal and part-time jobs. So maybe 15 people employed. And, as a community-run trust, money will stay in the community.' Preliminary work at the new site will start within the next few weeks with archaeology checks, drainage work and further planning at the site. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Trust said the new centre will fit directly into Government policy which could see the area designated an Area of Linguistic Significance. Community Land Scotland, the lead organisation representing community landowners across Scotland, is supporting the new development. CLS's director of communities and operations Linsay Chalmers said: 'This is a great project born of a lot of hard work by a lot of people from the community. Supporting the rich Gaidhlig language and culture has always been a central part of our work with community groups. 'We all know the language adds significantly to the health of the communities where it is still used. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'A place like Trotternish is one of the Gaidhlig heartlands and it is fantastic that the community has taken the initiative to support and strengthen the language and in turn strengthen the economic and social wellbeing of the north of Skye.'
The National
07-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Work to start on £8 million Gaelic cultural centre on Skye
Work is due to start in the following weeks on the new centre – Ionad Thròndairnis (Trotternish Centre) – which will be built at Flodigarry in Staffin on the North-east peninsula of Skye. The centre will include a large function hall, classrooms for language, music and heritage education, and a significant library and digital archive, with the hopes of creating 10 full-time jobs. The Trotternish Centre will also include a cafe-restaurant and a scalable development of quality accommodation to serve not only the users of the centre, but also address the 'chronic shortage' of bed spaces in Skye. READ MORE: Copper cables worth 'tens of thousands of pounds' stolen from 2 wind farms The Staffin area of Trotternish is an internationally acclaimed site for dinosaur footprints and is also popular with Hollywood, with Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Macbeth, starring Michael Fassbender, shooting in the area. However, for the island locals, Trotternish's greatest claim to fame is its success in maintaining a Gaelic-speaking community, with those involved with the centre hoping it will continue to preserve the language amongst Skye's residents. Margaret Nicolson, chair of Ionad Thròndairnis (The Trotternish Trust), said the centre will be a great boost for the Gaelic community. She said: 'Gaelic is still alive as a community language in this area. I can speak Gaelic to many people, every day, in the shops and in the community. 'There are people moving into the community and – although they don't speak it themselves – very often they will send their children to the Gaelic-medium schools, and so I can speak Gaelic to those children. 'This is still a Gaelic community, and the new centre will be a great boost for the language.' Nicolson added: 'It will give the Gaelic community confidence in their language and culture. 'For visitors and new residents, it will also provide a gateway to the language and the culture, boosting their interest, offering a great opportunity to learn the language or at least explore and enjoy the culture.' (Image: The Trotternish Trust) The Trotternish Trust, which is leading the project, believes that the centre will play a vital role in keeping Scotland's language heritage thriving. 'The new Ionad Thròndairnis will provide a great economic boost,' Nicolson added. 'It will provide around ten new full-time jobs, which is very big in rural Skye, and further seasonal and part-time jobs.' She continued: 'And, as a community-run trust, money will stay in the community.' Although funding has not been fully committed, the trust believes the new centre will fit directly into Government policy, which could see the area designated an Area of Linguistic Significance, with plans for it to be operational by 2028. Linsay Chalmers, director of communities and operations at Community Land Scotland, the lead organisation representing community landowners across Scotland, added: 'This is a great project born of a lot of hard work by a lot of people from the community. "Supporting the rich Gaelic language and culture has always been a central part of our work with community groups. We all know the language adds significantly to the health of the communities where it is still used. 'A place like Trotternish is one of the Gaelic heartlands and it is fantastic that the community has taken the initiative to support and strengthen the language and in turn strengthen the economic and social wellbeing of the north Skye.'
Scotsman
07-07-2025
- Scotsman
Work to start on new £8m Gaelic centre on Scotland's most visited island
The new centre is projected to bring an economic boost to the island by providing full-time jobs Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Work is to start on a new £8m Gaelic language and culture centre hoped to boost the local economy and preserve culture in a region on Scotland's most visited island. The new centre – Ionad Thròndairnis (Trotternish Centre) – will be built at Flodigarry on the north end of the Trotternish peninsula on the Isle of Skye. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It aims to protect and develop the Gaelic language, provide jobs and encourage young people to stay in the region. A drawing from plans for the new centre | Supplied The building will include a large function hall, classrooms for language, music and heritage education, a library and digital archive and a cafe and restaurant. The community trust behind the development said accommodation will be included onsite for the users of the centre but also to address a chronic shortage of beds in the island region. Trotternish is amongst the most deprived rural areas in Scotland when it comes to measures of income, employment and access to services, according to the Trotternish Trust | Supplied While the area is internationally recognised for dinosaur footprints, with 160 million year old evidence of ornithopods, and its links to Hollywood after being a film location for blockbusters, including Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender and Ridley Scott's Prometheus, the Trotternish Trust said it is among the most deprived areas in rural Scotland when it comes to measures of income, employment and access to services. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad According to the centre's business plan, the development is due to employ 10 full-time staff and provide part-time jobs and seasonal work. Scenery on the Trotternish peninsula | Supplied The Trotternish Trust, behind the development, said it will also prioritise keeping young people in the area. Margaret Nicolson, chairwoman of Ionad Thròndairnis, said: 'Gaelic is still alive as a community language in this area. I can speak Gaelic to many people, every day, in the shops and in the community. 'There are people moving into the community and – although they don't speak it themselves – very often they will send their children to the Gaelic-medium schools, and so I can speak Gaelic to those children. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'This is still a Gaelic community, and the new centre will be a great boost for the language.' She added: 'The new Ionad Thròndairnis will provide a great economic boost. 'It will provide around ten new full-time jobs, which is very big in rural Skye, and further seasonal and part-time jobs. So maybe 15 people employed. And, as a community-run trust, money will stay in the community.' Preliminary work at the new site will start within the next few weeks with archaeology checks, drainage work and further planning at the site. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Trust said the new centre will fit directly into Government policy which could see the area designated an Area of Linguistic Significance. Community Land Scotland, the lead organisation representing community landowners across Scotland, is supporting the new development. CLS's director of communities and operations Linsay Chalmers said: 'This is a great project born of a lot of hard work by a lot of people from the community. Supporting the rich Gaidhlig language and culture has always been a central part of our work with community groups. 'We all know the language adds significantly to the health of the communities where it is still used. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'A place like Trotternish is one of the Gaidhlig heartlands and it is fantastic that the community has taken the initiative to support and strengthen the language and in turn strengthen the economic and social wellbeing of the north of Skye.'
