THANKS A MI ION!
That’s amount of public cash to be lavished on every single resident of Ulva, in ‘huge SNP vanity project’
IT is one of Scotland’s smallest and most remote inhabited islands.
But Ulva – home to only six permanent residents – is now also on track to become one of the most expensive.
In 2018, taxpayers funded a community buyout of the tiny Hebridean outpost at a cost of more than £4.5 million. Last week, the island was awarded two further grants of public money for development projects – totalling more than £1 million.
And with residents optimistic of securing a further £400,000 for refurbishing the island’s houses, the cost to the public purse of the buyout is set to top £1 million for every man, woman and child.
Last night, the huge scale of subsidy for the island sparked a fierce debate over the value of the buyout scheme.
On one side, islanders argued that funding was vital to attract more residents and boost the economy. However, the former laird of Ulva – who was forced to sell the island to the community – said it was wrong so much money was being spent on a ‘massive SNP vanity project’.
Ulva, which covers seven square miles off the west coast of Mull, was put on the market in 2017 by its then-owner, Jamie Howard, whose family had owned it for decades. However, the sale was blocked by the Scottish Government after a community group lodged plans for a buyout.
Despite warnings by Mr Howard that the island could not be run at a profit, in June 2018 the island was transferred into the ownership of the North West Mull Community Woodland Company, run by its residents and locals on neighbouring Mull.
The £4.65 million purchase price was met by a grant of £4.4 million from the Scottish Land Fund, topped up by donations from supporters around the world.
Last week, the group was handed £813,000 in European funding for its new Ulva Cultural Heritage Project, along with £212,000 in National Lottery cash. The money will be used to convert Ulva House and gardens – Mr Howard’s former home – into a visitor centre, as well as creating a self-catering holiday apartment and funding a research project into the history of the island’s people.
It is also applying for rural housing grants to renovate homes.
The only inhabitants of Ulva are Rebecca and Rhuri Munro, who run the Boathouse restaurant, and their two children, plus fisherman Barry George and recent arrival Wendy Grant, the island’s development manager.
Ms Grant said the public money was needed to boost the economy and tempt visitors. She said tourist numbers had soared from 4,000 a year to more than 7,000 since Ulva had passed into community ownership. She added: ‘The community is not just those six people who live on Ulva. It is part of the North West Mull community.
‘And if you want to be brutal about it, the £4.5 million that was paid for Ulva mostly benefited one person – the previous owner.’
But Mr Howard argued that the public cash was unnecessary.
He said: ‘Whilst it’s good to see Ulva thrive, this is a massive SNP vanity project. All this could have been achieved with private, not taxpayers’ money.
‘It pains me to see my beloved home institutionalised but I hope it turns out well.’