Hebrides People is a purpose-built visitor centre in Northton, on the Isle of Harris. It houses historical exhibitions about the people and landscapes of Harris and the Western Isles, extensive records of the area’s genealogy, and a gift shop.
The site is run by Northton Heritage Trust, which employs a team of four plus two seasonal staff.
We spoke with Nigel Bruce, who joined as strategic development manager in 2024 to lead on a £6 million redevelopment project.
“The plan is to create a world-class visitor centre, based on genealogy of the islands and the crofts. We're extending and enhancing an existing part of the building.” He adds: “If everything goes well, we will probably get a spade in the ground for June or July this year.”
Right time for a retrofit
Back in 2024, Hebrides People sought the help of local firm Muirneag Consulting to calculate their baseline carbon footprint.
It showed that visitor travel is responsible for the largest share of their emissions, at around 61%, with the remainder mostly from waste disposal, electricity and heating.
The report also made 13 recommendations for reducing these emissions, including replacing the oil boiler (commonly used for heating in off-gas grid communities like Harris), insulating the building and installing solar photovoltaic panels.
With the redevelopment already planned for 2026, it made sense to do a low-carbon retrofit at the same time, says Nigel.
“These things will be implemented when we get to the final new build,” he confirms. “We'll have energy efficiency throughout – from insulation, solar panels, to low energy lights – and likely to have air source heat pumps.”
The redevelopment will create a new drop-off area for buses and coaches, too (another of the report’s recommendations), which means fewer vehicles will be needed per visitor. This should help to lower emissions from visitor travel.
Funding hoops
£6 million is an eye-watering sum for a small community trust.
So, Hebrides People has secured funding for the renovation from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Islands Growth Deal, Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Having their carbon emissions inventory and net zero action plan to hand made a big difference, reveals Nigel: “When we were putting in major funding applications, these points are very useful to show that we're being as thoughtful as we can in the process.”
“Highlands and Islands Enterprise were probably the leading funder on asking questions about how we are going to reduce our carbon emissions. I think the rest [of the funders] are playing catch up.
“It’s public money that we are spending. It needs to be shown that we're making the best possible use of the money, and that it’s being spent in a sustainable way.”