SCALPAY residents have voted overwhelmingly to take control of the tiny island off the coast of Harris after a historic vote.
A total of 197 people backed community ownership, with only eight voting against, following landlord Fred Taylor's decision to gift it to them. The turnout was 78.2%.
A narrowly contested second question which asked how the community buyout should be run resulted in 110 people backing a merger with North Harris Trust, who will now put it to a vote of their members.
However, 96 people voted for a standalone Scalpay Trust to be set up to conduct its affairs.
Mr Taylor had said a community landlord would have wider access to the fresh investment needed to regenerate the island's ailing economy which is blighted by depopulation, departing youth, few facilities and lack of jobs.
A no vote risked the island being transferred to another organisation and the status quo, he added.
Finlay Macrae, secretary of the buyout steering group, thanked Mr Taylor for his efforts to revitalise the community and said the result gave a "very clear message to set the ball rolling" for the transfer.
He said Scalpay would become a "community-owned land holding. Now the question is how to go forward".
However, he added the proposed merger was not a forgone conclusion, and it was unclear what would happen if North Harris Trust rejected the proposal.
Buyout steering group chairman Paul Finnegan said: "We'll have to talk to them and see where we take it from here."
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