Vatersay Causeway
In
1987 the Council got an Act of Parliament which said the causeway was needed
"to maintain the present population of Vatersay and relieve hardship."
The causeway meant far better access to social services, refuse collection,
job opportunities, marketing, shops, imported domestic and commercial products,
a daily postal service, and better chances to make something of tourism.
The immediate
reaction to the causeway saw the population rise from 65 in 1988 to 83 in
1993, and planning applications soar from a mere two in 1985-9 to 24, including
four new houses, in 1990-3.
Vatersay Causeway
Vatersay
has been for decades the most southerly inhabited island of the Western Isles.
Following clearances in the 19th century, its population was only 13 in 1901.
By 1911 it had soared to 288 after movements of people from Barra and Mingulay.
By 1971 the population was down to 77. It rose after ten local authority homes
were built, rising to 107 in 1981 before falling again to 65 in 1988.
The population is mainly bilingual in Gaelic and English and Roman Catholic
in religion. The roads are single-track. Before the causeway was built the
Island was served by a passenger ferry from Castlebay in Barra. The transport
of bulk good required boats to be hired. The pier and its access was difficult.
Vatersay
Causeway
The
scheme - main contractor R.J. Macleod - took 18 months to complete including
a new two kilometre access road across Barra. A total of 220,000 tonnes of
rock was needed for the causeway.
The
work had been preceded by seven years of feasibility study and consultation
- and by a decline in Vatersay's population from 288 in 1911 to 65 by 1988.
This has now been reversed. The project was funded by Comhairle nan Eilean
Siar, the Scottish Office, and the European Regional Development Fund.
