Sanday residents to crowdfund island’s first road

SANDAY islanders hope to raise enough money to build the island’s first road.

Isle of Canna Community Development Trust (ICCDT) has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £14,708 to provide Sanday with a road.

On its Just Giving fundraising page, an ICCDT spokesperson explained: ‘Our project is to build a track across Sanday so islanders can get to and from their homes and businesses when the tide is in. When the tide is out, vehicles can cross the bridge and use the extremely rocky and uneven track to the houses and school. When the tide is in, this track is blocked and travel is only possible by foot or quad bike.’

The islands of Canna and Sanday are connected by a bridge that can take vehicles, but there is currently no road. The proposed road will stretch from the Canna bridge to St Edwards church, approximately one and a half miles long and three metres wide, all built using locally sourced materials.

Although the population of Sanday barely reaches a dozen, many locals work between the two places and the primary school on the island serves communities on both Sanday and Canna.

The spokesperson continued: ‘The road will enable islanders to travel from the pier on Canna to home on Sanday, carrying shopping, fuel for heating and for getting back and forth to work on Canna. Creating this track will be life- changing for residents and vital to encouraging new people to settle on the island.’

The campaign is 25 per cent of the way to reaching its target. To find out more or donate, go to justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/sanday.