Cate Devine
THE only community-run local food shop in the Hebrides is under threat of closure.
Buth Bharraigh, at Castlebay on the Isle of Barra, was set up in 2013, giving crofters an outlet for their produce and becoming a favourite for tourists and locals alike.
But as part of a £1.6 million regeneration programme for Barra and Vatersay, Western Isles Council is proposing to demolish the building leased by Buth Bharraigh.
Its founder claims the council is breaking a previous agreement by not providing suitable alternative accommodation for the shop.
Sarah Maclean, a local crofter who founded the co-operative in 2013 and now employs three full-time members of staff working with 12 volunteers, has launched an online petition to help save the shop in its current location.
The mother-of-two, whose husband is a local fisherman, said: “The council told us it would build us a purpose-built shop but it now seems to have changed its mind. If we close it will be devastating for the island and for the producers.
"We are building a sustainable local food system here on Barra by encouraging local people to use their crofts and giving them the opportunity to sell their produce and even to diversify."
Buth Bharraigh sells meat, fish, bread, home baking and fresh eggs from over 80 producers in Barra and Vatersay as well as vegetables, herbs and salad leaves grown at the social enterprise community garden at Northbay, and local crafts.
Last year it brought in £88,000 to the local economy – £34,000 of which went directly to producers.
Ms Maclean said work had already started on refurbishing Vatersay hall and the rest of the £1.6m grant will be spent on building two new business units and landscaping the site currently occupied by the shop.
“We have been told we can bid for one of the new business units, and though we have no idea how much the rent will be I am sure it will be least four times what we pay for the existing building," she said.
"We do not want to move from the historic area of Castlebay close to the ferry terminal. We feel it’s important to keep footfall in the area and we want the council to transfer the building to us as an asset transfer.”
A spokesman for Western Isles Council said: “The Comhairle will continue to support the organisation. Bùth Bharraigh will be invited to apply, along with any other interested parties, for the new business units when they become available for let.”
Alasdair Allan, MSP for the Western Isles, said: "I have raised this issue with the council and I very much hope a mutually agreeable solution can be found. It is in the best interests of staff, customers and the many local producers who supply the shop that this enterprise continues to flourish."
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