Arnish Lighthouse

This is the archive of the Arnish Lighthouse blog, initially hosted on the BBC website, and from 2009 until late July 2014 on islandblogging.co.uk. The latter service was withdrawn due to falling interest and lack of funding.

It was good while it lasted, and I am sad to have to close the book on Arnish Lighthouse. The real lighthouse will continue its operation as a maritime beacon, as it has done since 1862.

The mission statement behind this blog:

I have been in Lewis since late 2004 and am observing life on this fascinating island from an outsider’s perspective. I look out at the lighthouse every day - as it looks out over the island and the sea.

No Eishken windfarm

Although this blog was discontinued in July 2014, I am briefly reopening it to report on an issue that Arnish Lighthouse was very vocal on.

Local journalist Iain Maciver has revealed that power company GDF / Suez has cancelled the construction of the 39-turbine windfarm in the Eishken district of Lewis. The reasons appear to be that the procrastination over the building of the high voltage sub-sea electricity cable (interconnector) was one of the main reasons. The economic case for said cable has always been flimsy, and is now no longer viable. What renewable energy schemes are left in the island, including the 26-turbine windfarm to the northeast in Pairc, are insufficient to make the case for the cable.

Since 2005, this blog has been very vocal in its opposition to any large-scale windfarms in Lewis. The 180-turbine North Lewis windfarm was scuttled in 2008, after it was found to be in breach of an EU habitat directive that is in place for the central moorlands of the island. Any plans for a resurrection on a smaller scale are now at least in doubt.

There is a silver lining for those to whom this news constitutes a cloud. A cancellation clause means that £2 million pounds of community benefit will be transferred to community groups, who were due to receive £1m annually, had the windfarm materialised.

Capacity

There has been a sense of are you sure we didn’t miss something about the new ferry ship, the MV Loch Seaforth. This is due to come into service on the Stornoway - Ullapool route in September. Already, questions are being raised by local councillors whether it provides sufficient capacity to cover the island’s needs. Generally, the current ferry services (note: plural) are held to be insufficient to enhance the Western Isles economic development.
When the idea of a replacement for the good ole Isle of Lewis was thought up, an idea was mooted to have two ships plying the Minch. However, it was decided to build just one large ferry. Not until after the keel was laid did anybody think about the port infrastructure in both Ullapool and Stornoway, and a dash is currently on to have everything in place in time for the arrival of the LS. A notice outside the Stornoway works, however, intimates that the proposed date for completion is November 2014.

Interconnectors

Hebrides News today reported on interconnectors to the Scottish islands, like the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland. I’m afraid I have some serious questions to ask about the facts presented therein.

The article closes by saying: “One key advantage of marine renewables, and of the wind resource on Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles, is that its output is less correlated with wind generation on the mainland. This helps to smooth intermittency effects elsewhere on the system.”

Shall we get the phraseology right? Electricity generated by wind power. Wind generation is something that mother nature does. It doesn’t matter where wind is used to generate electricity - it is inconsistent, unpredictable and inefficient. Intermittency effects are part and parcel of “wind generation”, because the wind does not blow at a consistent speed at our latitude.

I also question the figures quoted in the article. In six years from now, 4 tera (that’s a million million) watt hours of electricity will be generated in these islands. What on earth is going to do that? Marine technology is still being developed, and even the proposed windfarm at Muaitheabhal (Eishken) only has an output of 120 MWh.

Over the past number of years, it has become clear that there is a huge push on to have the interconnector constructed between Gravir and Dundonnell on the mainland, in spite of the fact that the benefits of wind-energy are increasingly being called into question. If it weren’t for vast government subsidies, the majority of windfarms in Scotland would not have been built, or even proposed. Opposition to those schemes is leading to increasing numbers of proposals being binned.

Pairc buy-out: success at last

After a lengthy, convoluted and at times acrimonious journey, the community of the Pairc Estate have voted to buy the estate from landlord Barry Lomas. The outcome of the ballot was announced this evening, with 166 in favour and 77 against, out of a turn-out of just over 62%.

This buy-out has taken more than ten years. I am pleased that it has proved successful in the end, and would like to wish the Pairc Trust good luck, prosperity and foresight in their management of the estate.

Lews Castle accommodation

It is reported that Comhairle nan Eilean Siar have awarded the lease for the provision of accommodation at Lews Castle to the company Natural Retreats. It is worth noting that this accommodation will not just comprise of self-catering units, but also of serviced accommodation (read: hotel rooms), a fact that continues to be omitted from local news reports.

A couple of years ago, the Comhairle finally managed to secure funding for the refurbishment of the Castle, which has lain in disrepair for years. This work is now nearing completion, meaning that the Castle can be put to use for the benefit of the whole of the Western Isles. Natural Retreats will be paying a commercial rent until at least 2044, and contribute towards the cost of the refurbishment.

Local providers of self-catering accommodation are opposed to this move on the grounds that the Castle development will stand in direct competition to their businesses.
The Council is obliged to obtain best value for money from the use of its assets, in this case Lews Castle. It is my conviction that they will have weighed up pros and cons. There will also have been a tendering exercise, as they are obliged to do under European laws, as a result of which Natural Retreats has been awarded the lease.

Further details are to be worked out in the next few weeks and months.
The Castle will open to the public next year. Apart from accommodation, it will host a cafeteria and a museum and archives section.

Harbour works

On 8 September this year, the new ferry MV Loch Seaforth will arrive in Stornoway. She is due to take over from the current vessel, MV Isle of Lewis at a later stage.  As the new ferry is larger, and has a greater capacity for vehicles, the marshalling and carparking areas around the ferry terminal have to be enlarged. Works will commence, and those involved in the construction (like the contractors, Calmac and police) ask the public for patience. This article on the Stornoway Gazette website will outline the impact in the interim.
The main points for the next few weeks:

• Staff and long-stay carpark has closed
• Carpark at pier no 1 will be closed from 18 April
• Ferry will dock at pier no 1 from 5 May

Detailed plans are on display in Stornoway ferry terminal, in the bay to the left of the entrance from the carpark.

Lews Castle

For quite a few years now, Lews Castle has lain derelict and unusued. The building was in state of disrepair, but is currently being refurbished. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar have been in the process of getting a private sector operator to take on the running of the Castle as an accommodation provider. Also included in the Castle project is a section for the Western Isles Museum (currently closed).

The Chief Executive of CnES has penned a letter to Hebrides News, outlining the current state of affairs.

I am very pleased that this iconic building is finally going to be put to good use. It has always saddened me to have had to tell visitors that you can’t enter the Castle. As of next year, we will be able to.

Pairc buy-out: vote suspended

Whatever next, in this saga. Because an amicable deal could not be reached before the deadline of 7 March, the vote among the residents of Pairc has been called off. If no deal can be reached, the hostile buy-out bid will be resumed. Should it be possible to iron out those final glitches, then a new ballot will be organised. I think it is ominous that the deal could not be finalised ahead of yesterday’s deadline, and completely in character for the way this buy-out bid has progressed, or failed to progress more to the point.

Pairc buy-out

Voting is underway among residents of the Pairc Estate in the South Lochs area of Lewis, to determine whether they wish to accept a deal with current landowner Barry Lomas. The result of the vote will be known on March 13th. I have written extensively about this case, and it only remains for me to conclude that although the road has been hard, long and dirty, it would appear that the community of Pairc now has ownership of (most of) its land within its grasp.

Ferry tales, ferry woes

The ferry service from Stornoway to Ullapool (and back) has been having a very bad winter, and not just due to the bad weather. A stormy period of two months came to an end in early February, but that is pretty much par for the course here. What is not, is the litany of mishaps that has bedeviled the boats.

It started when the MV Clipper Ranger crashed into pier number 1, and required a spell in drydock to repair her buckled plating. Her replacement, the MV Hebridean Isles, suffered a similar fate, but the damage to that boat could be fixed at Stornoway in a day. Meanwhile, the MV Isle of Lewis, was in drydock at Birkenhead for three weeks for its annual overhaul. Upon return to the run, she encountered a very rough crossing last Friday morning, and upon arrival at Ullapool, her rudder was found to be faulty. That could not be fixed locally either, so at the moment of typing, she is being patched up prior to returning to drydock in Birkenhead. The replacement vessel is the MV Isle of Arran, a much smaller vessel and local rumour has it that passengers are shipped on the Arran whilst their vehicles go on the Clipper Ranger. Allegedly.
Isle of Arran
Hebridean Isles

Clipper Ranger

Our new freight ferry, the Clipper Ranger, suffered a mishap last Tuesday (28 January), when she lost all power whilst manoeuvering to dock at pier no 1 here in Stornoway. As a result, the impetus of the ship carried her forcefully into the pier. Then she bounced off the fendering and drifted in the harbour, narrowly missing running aground in the Castle Grounds.
The damage to the ship necessitated it being patched up prior to it being taken to drydock in Liverpool for repairs.

For the time being, the MV Hebridean Isles is taking freight back and forth to Ullapool

Flooding

This morning, a 5.5 metre high tide overtopped the quays at Stornoway and flooded part of the town centre. North Beach was well under water, and police had closed Cromwell Street, North Beach Street and Castle Street. Some intrepid people even got their surfboards out.

Pairc buy-out

After ten years, the community buyout of the Pairc Estate in South Lochs finally appears to becoming a reality. With the contribution of several hundred thousand pounds by public bodies, the Pairc Trust has now the funds available to take over the estate from present landlord Mr Barry Lomas. The way was rocky and unpleasant, but it is the result that counts. Whether the proposed windfarm will ever be built is dependent on the interconnector, and I recently learned that it could be quite a few years before that comes about - if at all. The winds of change are blowing through the renewables sector, with increasing numbers of people realising that windturbines are not as green as they are made out to be. Also, their output is not reliable, and requires back-up generation through other sources like nuclear, shale gas and the like. I don’t think the interconnector will come about - but only time will tell.
I wish the community of Pairc luck and sagacity with the acquisition of the land, and trust they manage it more in the interest of their residents than the outgoing landlord did.

Christmas lights switch off

On Thursday 5th December, there will be no Christmas lights in any of the streets of Stornoway. Only the Christmas tree in Perceval Square will be lit as a token gesture to the fact that the year is nearly over. After we lost some of the inter island flights and primary schools, we are now facing the dullest and most dismal prospect in years. Christmas spirit? Well, the only spirits around this year will be the ones in a bottle <chokes>.
Hey, AL, don’t be such a misery guts. Santa will be in his grotto in the former WeeW store, the pipeband will play for a quarter of an hour in the town centre and the shops are open late that day. December 5th? That’s the eve of the nameday of St Nicholas, Santa Claus. Ach, I’m sure everybody will have a whale of a time.Here are a few pics from Xmas decorations from years gone by…

In clear contravention

It is a duty of our elected representatives to make decisions on our behalf, sometimes going against public feeling. Our elected representatives have more information than we, as individuals, may have. A council, like Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, has established policies to deal with (e.g.) planning applications for windfarms. To just throw those policies to the winds leaves the council, to my mind, with serious questions to answer. But will anyone ever ask those questions?

I am referring to the decision by the CnES planning committee to allow 14 turbines, each standing 126 metres (just over 400 feet) tall, to be built inland from North Tolsta, between Tolsta Glen and Diridean.
The scheme:

• is too close to habitation
• breaks the Western Isles Development plan
• carries significant impacts on landscape, amenity and homes
• endangers golden eagles at its northernmost point

In spite of that, a letter campaign by 53 residents (with only 1 against) was sufficient to sway the decision against all of this. The community was held to be unanimously in favour of the scheme. Councillors also stated that objections from people faraway should not be given much weight.

To my mind, having observed the saga of windfarms on Lewis over the past decade, it wasn’t the popular vote that swayed the planning committee. It was the fact that the scheme and its 42 MW output would provide the electricity needed to make the proposed interconnector to the mainland economically viable. SSE, who have spent this year dragging their feet over the issue, is due to make a decision before the end of December.
As ever, full council is expected to rubberstamp the planning committee’s decision later in the week. Oh, the community benefit will amount to a mouth-watering if not eye-watering £294k per annum.

Pairc buy-out

I have received information regarding the amicable buy-out of the Pairc estate, which was agreed to at a public meeting last Thursday (21st). One line stood out like a sore thumb.

The present Landlord will only consider the amicable purchase of the estate providing he will still benefit from any wind farm development post purchase, as if he was still the Landlord.

There is an interposed lease between PRL (Pairc Renewables Ltd) and SSE regarding the proposed windfarm. The SSE part has been taken over by the neighbouring Eishken Estate. Do not forget, in this context, that the Eishken Estate already has a windfarm (Muaitheabhal) ready to be constructed. They now stand to gain even more, once the Pairc Windfarm is up and running.

The outgoing Landlord will receive the same income from the 26-turbine windfarm as the Pairc Trust, namely £330,000 per annum. In spite of the fact, that (as outlined above) he no longer owns any land. £330,000 is not a small amount of money for you and me, but actually only amounts to £1,000 per person per year. That won’t go awfully far if we’re talking about economic regeneration. Two individuals will become very rich, gaining £8.4m over the 25-year lifespan of the project.

There are currently only 26 windturbines in the planning, but if the community wants more (thereby increasing their revenue), they can get more.

This is all depending on the construction of the interconnector (the sub-sea high-voltage electricity cable to the mainland). I am told informally that this is a done deal.
I feel, very strongly, that the people of Pairc have been sold down the river for a chest of beads and mirrors.  How on earth, after all these years of obstruction, divide & rule and non-cooperation from the Landlord, could people acquiesce to such terms?

Pairc buy-out

On Thursday 21st November, a meeting will be held for residents of South Lochs and members of the Pairc Trust to determine whether the community of South Lochs will endorse a voluntary transfer of the Pairc Estate to the Pairc Trust. This would be in the place of the current Part 3 compulsory purchase, against the landlord’s wishes. The asking price is actually higher than under the compulsory purchase, and the difference is expected to be raised from the public purse.

Whilst an amicable transfer would of course be preferable, I am by no means convinced that in this case it is to the benefit of the community. The delaying tactics from the landlord have dragged this saga out since 2004, admittedly serving to show up all the weaknesses in the legislation. A favourable settlement would involve the same asking price, to name but a thing. However, full details on the T&C’s for this agreed transfer will be provided at the meeting.

Ferry tales

Our old freight ferry Muirneag sailed from Stornoway on 3 October to reach her new home in Turkey a fortnight later. On approach to Istanbul, she passed the Dardanelles, site of a bloody 9 month battle in 1915 which claimed half a million lives. Twelve of these were of men from the Isle of Lewis. I wish her well in her new life in the Black Sea.
Our new ferry Loch Seaforth is taking shape on a shipyard in Germany, and is expected to take over from the Isle of Lewis in July 2014. On Monday 11th November, the Pier & Harbour Commission will have an open day at the Stornoway ferry terminal for displaying their plans for the new ferry terminal. As the Loch Seaforth is larger than the Isle of Lewis, reclamation works will have to be undertaken to accommodate all the traffic. I’m wondering why this is only now being thought about, 8 months before the new ferry comes into service.
And although the Loch Seaforth is supposed to take the overnight freight runs as well, the relevant report on Hebrides News mentions that the linkspan on Pier #1 is to be refurbished - to take a future freight service. A prudent measure. During the summer, the ferry to Ullapool sails three times a day on Wednesday and Friday, leaving Stornoway at 6.00 am and completing the service at 1.45 am. Leaving just four and a bit hours to do the freight run which takes 8 hours back and forth. Well, I’m sorry, but even in the Outer Hebrides, a day only has 24 hours, not 29.

Muirneag

On 19 September, the replacement for our freight ferry Muirneag, the Clipper Ranger arrived in Stornoway. Today, Saturday 21 September, the Muirneag was taken off charter for Calmac from V-ships and was tied up at the Arnish pier. The Clipper Ranger took over at the same time.

Muirneag has come in for an unfair bit of stick over the years, acquiring the nickname the Olympic Flame (because she never went out). The vessel has brought all our goods to the islands, in all weathers (remember that storm in November 2005, when she ended up 60 miles north of the Butt of Lewis?) and all seasons.

The Clipper Ranger
Muirneag at Arnish