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North West Skye All-Weather Community Pitch
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Proposal code: THC-2026-06-158
To deliver a community all-weather sports pitch that improves health, wellbeing and opportunities to engage in sport for young people, families and all residents across north-west Skye.
Estimated Cost
£1,200,000
What we want to do
Dunvegan Community Trust wants to continue its work of developing facilities in the North West, and is seeking funding to develop an all-weather sports pitch in the heart of the village. The Community Pitch is a key component of the wider Dunvegan Masterplan, which will see a new, state of the art Primary School built by the Highland Council, as well as 16 high quality affordable lets led by Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association. The Community Pitch is a key part of this project and the first facility of its kind in the North West, and represents a real commitment to investing in retaining and attracting a sustainable population. We are keen to pursue an organic infill for the design as opposed to the traditional rubber crumb to minimise the environmental impact of the development. In addition to the pitch land itself, Highland Council have acquired land just across the school access road which they will be using for storage during the school construction. The logical next step for this project will be to develop Ancillary facilities for the pitch on this site once the construction of the school and housing is complete.
The total costs for the pitch development and construction are estimated at approximately £1,200,000, broken down into the following phases.
Phase 1 - Design and Development - RIBA 0-3
We have engaged MacConsulting Ltd to develop the design of the pitch and submit a planning application. His fee for this RIBA 0-3 will be paid out of our own reserves, but we will be fundraising for the following (approximate costs at this stage) :
Biodiversity Survey (TBC - We're seeking support from infrastucture projects in progressing this)
Peat Survey (TBC- We're seeking support from infrastucture projects in progressing this)
Noise Impact Assesment £2,750
Lighting Impact Assesment £1,250
Flood Risk Assesment £3,500
Planning Submission Fee TBC
Phase 2 - Technical - RIBA Stage 4
MacConsulting Fee TBC
Building Warrant Submission TBC
Phase 3 - Constructuon - RIBA Stage 5
Total Pitch Construction costs TBC.
Why this project is important for our community
Things are looking up in North West Skye! After decades of under-investment, in our facilities, our school, in any affordable housing, the North West is actively working to develop and maintain facilities, and working with strategic partners to do so.
North West Skye is one of 3 areas in Skye classed as 'fragile' by Scottish Government benchmarks. (Link to "In order to prioritise their work to sustain and develop communities in the Highlands and Islands – targeting support at the areas that most need it – Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) has produced indices of ‘fragile areas’ and ‘employment action areas’[70]. The index of Fragile Areas has also been used by The Highland Council to inform their Local Development Plan[71]"
There are currently no outdoor sports facilities in the whole of the North West of Skye, indeed currently the only all-weather pitch on the island is in Portree, a 40-60 mile round trip for residents of the North West, with a second all-weather pitch to serve the south of Skye currently under construction in Broadford (a 40-100 mile round trip for NW Skye residents). The impact that this has on the community was palpable in the conversations we had while developing our Community Action plan in 2025. Large numbers of our community travel thousands of miles every year for the opportunity to participate in and watch North West Skye Football Club (spending their money somewhere else at the same time!) The real emotive desire for North West Skye to have a home ground, a passion around the enrichment it would bring, and the frustration that it is taking so long was evident throughout all of the CAP engagement. It’s notable that the Sport and Leisure event was really well attended by a squad of NW Skye mens team: young men in their late teens/early twenties are a notoriously difficult group to reach in terms of community surveying and they are the future of the community- their voices are very important. They were both full of ideas for how the project could progress once the land is secured and also recommendations for pitch surface, multi- sport use and ancillary facilities. (Please read Appendix 1 - North West Skye Football club)
The Community Pitch's place within the Dunvegan Masterplan its importance, and it is even more essential taken in the context of the wider project. With a new, state of the art Primary School and 16 new affordable housing units, we have the opportunity to develop as an attractive place to live, work and play, by providing facilities suitable to the modern context and improving in-community resilience.
Our Project is highlighted in the following plans:
- Community Action Plan: Dunvegan Community Council Area 2025-2035
- West Highland and Islands Local Development Plan
- Skye and Raasay Future Plan
Positive outcomes of our project for the community:
- Reduction in 'dead' time and money spent traveling to and from Portree
- Environmental benefit of a reduction in single car journeys to and from Portree
- Local economy benefit of stemming the weekly exodus of people to Portree to access facilities, and attracing people to the North West
- Local facilities for recreation, health and well being through team sports
- Local Facilities for Children and young people
- Enhanced community cohesion and camaraderie, reduced isolation
- Population retention and attraction
- More equitable access to Sports
Key Milestones
Progress up until now has been fairly slow, with a protracted resumption through the Land court, and acquisiton of the land by Highland Council. The land being secured by Highland Council, providing us with the security to progress is a major milestone.- Highland Council have aquired the land for the pitch from MacLeod Estates. We will be progressing a lease arrangement once they are ready to do so.
- We have engaged MacConsulting LTD to develop a design and submit a planning application.
- We will be commisioning a Noise Impact survey, a Lighting Impact Survey and a Flood Risk assesment survey prior to planning submission.
Community Engagement and Support Evidenced
We have been attending Local Stakeholder meetings for the Dunvegan Masterplan Project since 2021, alongside representatives from Dunvegan Primary School (whose catchment now covers the whole of the North West), Dunvegan Community Council, North West Skye Football Club, Highland Council departments and Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association.
13.11.2024 Sports and Leisure Open event- Dunvegan Community Hall
March 2025 - Community Action Plan Surveys - Fantastic response, 40% of households
April 2025 - Established a local working group for pitch stakeholders - NW Skye Football Club, Skye Rugby, Dunvegan Primary School, Dunvegan Parent Council, Dunvegan Community Council, North Skye Shinty
Appendix 1- North West Skye Football Club Letter
Next Steps:
Local Fundraising Events - These are opportunities to raise funds for the project as well as raise the profile locally, and provide the opportunity to share and feed back on plans.
- Dunvegan Show Cafe July 2026
- MacLeod Parliament Cafe July 2026 - great pool for a crowdfunder!
Subsequent meeting with working group to discuss plans, gather feedback
Open event in Dunvegan Hall to discuss the plans, gather feedback
Meeting with Sports Scotland
Planning Application submission
Seek Funding and Commison RIBA stage 4-5
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