Help for Strathnaver Museum

Wildland believes strongly that we should help where we can, particularly in the areas and communities of which we are a part. Earlier this year it was brought to our attention that a long awaited multi-million pound upgrade to the Strathnaver Museum near Bettyhill in Sutherland was in jeopardy after a legal anomaly was found relating to the title deeds. This anomaly put at risk the public funding which had been secured for the museum’s renovation, leaving the project’s future uncertain. 

Wild Ventures Limited, a sister company of Wildland, was able to provide a substantial interest free bridging loan with the museum, allowing the Directors to cover the development cashflow whilst the legal matter was resolved.

Tom Mackay, Chair of Strathnaver Museum, which tells the story of the surrounding area, the Sutherland Clearances and the history of Clan Mackay, said that otherwise the project may have been shelved “indefinitely”.

He also went on to say;

“The Museum’s trustees had been unaware that a clerical oversight made decades ago meant that title to the museum was still registered in the names of its original community trustees and not that of Strathnaver Museum Ltd. I am enormously grateful for the support of fellow trustees who have managed to resolve the title issue so quickly and to the full satisfaction of legal officers and our core funders. 

“The team were particularly concerned that any delay to the ongoing project would have had major repercussions on project delivery due to the unprecedented rise in material costs and the short-term availability of some funding sources. So, we are all particularly grateful to Wildland for working through the problem with us and providing immediate, vital, interest free and unsecured loan support that relieved the challenge we faced. Without this comfort we would not be where we are today and may even have had to shelve the much-needed refurbishment project indefinitely”.

We are really glad to have been able help avoid a problem, the consequences of which did not really bear thinking about. We look forward to seeing the newly refurbished and developed museum next spring.

Thurso based O’Brien Construction Ltd who were awarded the contract in September 2021 to carry out the development work are now nearing completion of the work on site. 

Abound Design and Interpretation are currently working with the museum team on new interpretation and displays which are due to be installed late October, ahead of the March 2023 opening.

For more information on Strathnaver Museum and the renovation project you can visit their website.