Gigha seeks new blood as buyout island tackles debt

However, the community-owned island of Gigha has nearly doubled its population in the last decade or so, and wants to attract even more as a way of dealing with potentially crippling debts of £2.7 million.

It is now making efforts to persuade more people to move there, to work or to retire, to help it balance the books.

Margaret McSporran, the chairwoman of the island's heritage trust, who insisted "Gigha is not going bust" said: "We are now going to look again at those who would like to come and live on Gigha either to retire or otherwise establish a property. They can bring something else to the island.

"In general, we want to go out and persuade more people to come and live on the island while still maintaining our core ideals. We will be considering how best to do that in the weeks ahead."

The new strategy is being ­developed after a vote of two to one to support Mrs McSporran in her plans to reorganise its finances and management on Thursday, days after details of the financial crisis emerged.

She had asked for the vote of the membership of the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust, which has owned the island since the famous £4m community buyout in 2002. A review had described the amount owed as "unsustainable based on current revenues".

This issue of the finances had divided opinion on the island, but trust members voted overwhelmingly to support Ms McSporran as chairwoman, with 56 voting yes and 28 against. The population has already almost doubled since the buyout, rising from 96 to 170, but Ms McSporran believes further boosts are required for the economic health of the community.

She said: "We owe £2.7m, and I quite understand some residents are deeply concerned by that. But we have over £7.5m worth of assets to balance that against. Among our assets are 34 houses either below tolerable standard or in serious disrepair at the buyout, which have now been completely renovated to a high standard for our community.

"There are still seven to do and we are planning for those to be renovated. We also have four wind turbines which have earned over £800,000 for our community."

But there would be a refreshed approach to governance, management of debt and developing new income streams, she said, and work to improve Gigha as a tourist destination.

She said the community had run the Gigha Hotel for the past 12 years and while it had served the island and visitors well it had made enormous demands on local residents. So the trust is now pursuing the leasing of the hotel to operators with a good track record in the industry.

She said housing could be crucial. In the past the trust has been strict about who is sold house plots on the island or given leases in one of the trust's properties. "They either had to have lived here before or been able to contribute economically with a business or work," said Ms McSporran. "We were determined Gigha would grow a vibrant local economy and not become dominated by holiday homes. So the 11 properties developed privately since the buyout, are owned by people who are economically active."

David Cameron, chairman of Community Land Scotland, the umbrella organisation for community buyouts, said people had to understand community landowners were multi-functional businesses which needed to borrow to invest.

"There have been those who want to paint Gigha as an island in crisis, but this is a place determined to carve out a better future. This is an island community which has invested in building for that future and, while that allows some to paint a picture of an island in debt, for others it is an island investing for the long-term, an island with hope and confidence."

A spokesman for Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which invested £500,000 in the community buyout, said: "We have been helping the trust to form a clear sustainable business plan for the future and will continue to support them."