Calanais Standing Stones Consultation – Improving community, economic and conservation benefits

Overview

This consultation by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is on potential changes to access and charging arrangements at Calanais Standing Stones. We are working to deliver a new combined visitor experience at the site, in collaboration with the local community-led trust Urras nan Tursachan (UnT), who independently own, manage and operate the Calanais Standing Stones visitor centre. A Gaelic language version of this consultation is available.

The community and local organisations have had a long-held local ambition to improve facilities to deal with increasing visitor numbers, to ensure the long-term wellbeing of the Calanais Standing Stones through promoting sustainability in heritage tourism, and to secure greater benefits from tourism to support the local community.  The consultation focuses on potential changes to access and charging at Calanais Standing Stones to support those ambitions by working towards a joint visitor experience arrangement with UnT. The consultation does not focus on the physical visitor centre redevelopment undertaken by UnT, which has already been granted planning permission and is being developed. Further information on the visitor centre redevelopment.

Who are we?

HES is the non-departmental public body with charitable status that is charged by Scottish Ministers with managing and caring for Scotland’s Properties in Care (PICs). We are responsible for the care, preservation, and maintenance of 336 properties of national importance across Scotland. Buildings and monuments in our care include Edinburgh Castle, Skara Brae, Calanais Standing Stones, and Fort George, which together draw more than 5 million visitors per year. Together these properties represent over 5,000 years of Scotland’s history. 

UnT is an independent, not-for-profit charity that owns and manages the visitor centre at Calanais Standing Stones. UnT use their resources to help local communities, support research into the archaeological heritage of the Outer Hebrides, and champion the value of this heritage to make a positive difference to the lives of the people of the Outer Hebrides. 

Why your views matter

A new sustainable future for the Calanais Standing Stones needs to reflect community and business aspirations. We are therefore seeking to understand your views on:

• How you currently interact/use Calanais Standing Stones and why you use it
• What you think are the current issues in and around Calanais Standing Stones
• What the priorities should be for Calanais Standing Stones
• Where you would like to see improvements and action
• What benefits should HES and UnT working together bring to people’s lives
• Any general comments about the proposals and potential impacts
• How you see Historic Environment Scotland’s work in the Outer Hebrides developing

This consultation is to ensure that all stakeholders have a chance to give their feedback, shape HES’s plans for change at Calanais Standing Stones and the direction of ambition in the Outer Hebrides.  We want to hear from anyone with an interest, relationship or connection with Calanais Standing Stones.

What happens next

What we are proposing to do at Calanais Standing Stones has not been done at our other properties across Scotland and we are learning all the time as we adapt and respond to issues. This survey is therefore vital for us to understand your priorities and views. The survey will inform and shape how we work going forward. The survey will run for 3 months, after which we will analyse and publish the results. There will be time required after the closing date, to analyse the results, before they can be published.