A community radio station which began life in a single room in Aros has grown into an award winning voice for Skye and Lochalsh.
Radio Skye, which was named Station of the Year at the National Community Radio Awards in 2025, has credited financial support from Highland Opportunity (Investments) Limited with helping it develop services and overcome periods of pressure.
The community owned station and registered charity first went on air in 1995 before moving into purpose built studios in Portree in 2004.
Originally known as Cuillin FM, it became Radio Skye in 2020 and now broadcasts around the clock on FM and online with the support of more than 40 volunteers.
Its output includes local news, music, community information and Gaelic programming.
An important step came in 2022 when the station appointed a grant funded full time Cultural Journalist to expand its cultural coverage, support local artists and strengthen community storytelling.
Highland Opportunity (Investments) Limited, the Highland Council owned business loan company, provided a bridging loan in May 2024 to help cover salary costs while further grant funding was awaited.
A further 12 month loan extension was approved in June 2025 after unexpected repair costs placed additional pressure on the station’s finances.
Radio Skye has meanwhile been working to develop other sources of income and improve its long term sustainability.
That has included expanded signal coverage, an online shop, an outside broadcasting van and two holiday pods beside its studios which began providing additional revenue in 2023.
The station also remains involved in community projects including the Cram the Van Christmas Appeal and its YouthSPACE training programme.
HOIL Chair Councillor Jackie Hendry said:
“We welcomed this opportunity to help Radio Skye (Cuillin FM) with a bridging loan to enable expansion with the addition of a new Cultural Journalist pilot programme.
“Being a small commercial operation, the station has worked hard to help local community groups have free airtime and advertising as well as providing interesting content for their increasing numbers of listeners.
“We wish them continued success with their radio station, being a popular and valuable part of their community.”
Radio Skye Station Manager Suzy Lee said:
“We were delighted to be supported by HOIL to continue our pilot project to have a full-time journalist as part of our staff.
“This gave us the opportunity to increase our local news coverage and connect more meaningfully with our community, bringing hyper local stories to light and allowing more people to know what is happening in their area, as well as having their say.
“Since having the funding and completing the pilot programme we now have a dedicated full-time journalist, Jamie McDonald, who has excelled in broadcasting news for the radio, social media and online.
“He has been a huge asset to the station and is now part of our YouthSPACE team mentoring our young trainees in news writing and production.”
More than 30 years after those small beginnings in Aros, Radio Skye now has a national award on the shelf, a permanent journalist in the newsroom and more than 40 volunteers helping keep a distinctive local voice on air.
