Minister to open Port Mòr on Islay

Stewart Maxwell MSP the Minister for Communities and Sport will officially open the Port Mor Centre outside Port Charlotte on Friday 21st September. The new building cost nearly £1m and has been funded by various grants including the European Regional Development Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The community of Port Charlotte additionally sold their village hall and donated the funds raised to the project. It is a carbon neutral building and employs a ground source heat pump to heat the building with aditional power being provided by a wind turbine while the hot water system is supplemented by solar panels. Port Mòr is used for various community events and also has a café, video conferencing facilities, and meeting rooms.

Adjacent to the building the community company Iomairt Chille Chomain have set up a camp site which has been well used over the summer. One hundred soldiers from the British Army will be camping there over the next month while they help build projects at Finlaggan and Dunlossit. Other projects on the Iomairt Chille Chomain site include two new crofts, a children’s playground, a new football pitch and all-abilities path. There is also an area that is managed to deliver maximum environmental benefit. The company also made land available for affordable housing for rent and those houses will be officially opened on the same day.

This story was published with kind permission from The Ileach - Community Newspaper of the year.