The Carbost Waterfront project aims to develop facilities that provide comprehensive public access to the sea at Carbost on the Isle of Skye. These facilities will include a pier, launching slipway, pontoon jetty, parking, picnic areas, and public toilets/showers. By providing these facilities we aim to create a permanent link between the communities of the area and the maritime environment. We wa
nt visitors who arrive by sea to be able to explore the land. We want commercial fishermen to know that they have a safe and welcoming harbour in which to tie up and land their catch or shelter from a gale. We want our youngsters to grow up with a knowledge of the sea and boats, and an appetite for getting out upon it for work and play. We want to create the environment for a thriving harbour culture that adds to the vitality of the area and endures for generations to come. None of this will happen without building the infrastructure. Piers and slipways and pontoons are bridges that allow people to move between the land and the sea. We want to build a bridge that connects these two worlds. Carbost Pier Ltd is the community company that is behind the regeneration of the waterfront at Carbost. CPL was formed in 2007 and now has over 130 members, most of whom live in the Minginish area. Membership is open to anyone who is interested in developing access to the sea at Carbost for the benefit of all. Between 2007 and 2010 CPL developed its ideas and negotiated access to the land, foreshore, and seabed along the waterfront at Carbost. The company received donations from The Highland Council, the Big Lottery, and The Scottish Community Projects Fund which were used to commission an engineer's report into the proposed facilities. In December 2010 the Highland LEADER Programme awarded CPL a grant of £93,000 towards the renovation of the old distillery pier at Carbost and a basic upgrade of the access road. CPL has successfully raised the balance of the cost of these works and they should be completed during the summer of 2011. Phase 2 - The Slipway, Pontoon, etc. An application is being prepared to the Big Lottery for funding to build a new launching slipway, install a pontoon jetty, and complete the upgrade of the access road and parking areas. The earliest that this will be completed is 2013. CPL is also supporting a local initiative to build new public toilets and showers in the village on the site of the Highland Council toilets that have been abandoned and will soon be removed. Investigations are underway on how to cover the running costs of the proposed facilities. CPL acts as the local mooring association. Moorings administered through CPL attract a 50% discount on the fees charged by the Crown Estate.
