The community of Canna is celebrating a significant milestone after receiving £250,800 from the Scottish Government to advance an ambitious heritage led regeneration project at the heart of the island.
The funding, awarded through the 2025 to 2026 Islands Programme, will allow the Isle of Canna Community Development Trust to move forward with detailed design work for the Coroghon Barn project.
The £5.6 million vision centres on restoring and extending a derelict 18th century barn into a lively hub for island life and a cornerstone for new economic activity.
The site sits above a black sand beach with views towards an ancient Dun and has been a gathering point for centuries of islanders whose stories continue to shape Canna and Sanday today.
It is this deep connection with place and people that inspired the community to put heritage at the centre of its regeneration plans.
IoCCDT Chair Geraldine MacKinnon said that Canna’s story stretches across two millennia and remains a powerful foundation for the island’s future.
“Canna has a unique story of 2000 years of human occupation, and a small but determined community today who want to see our island thriving into the 21st Century,” she said.
A newly digitised community archive will sit at the heart of the heritage project with digital and physical interpretation helping visitors explore the island’s natural landscapes, cultural history and long record of settlement.
The restored barn will provide a warm, modern gathering place for Canna’s twenty or so permanent residents who currently rely on an unheated and draughty shearing shed for community events.
The new layout will allow the space to host island gatherings, visiting groups, specialist tours and small conferences in partnership with a new twenty bed bunk hotel built as part of the extension.
The bunk hotel aims to make longer stays more accessible to visitors at a time when most of the ten thousand people who travel to Canna each year are limited to day trips due to a lack of accommodation.
IoCCDT Director Isebail MacKinnon said the goal is to encourage a slower, deeper connection with the Small Isles.
“The idea of the bunk hotel is about nurturing a more sustainable model of slow tourism in the Small Isles,” she said.
“Being run as a community owned enterprise means more of the income generated from tourism stays within the island’s economy, building community wealth.”
WT Architects of South Queensferry have been working closely with residents and with the National Trust for Scotland to design a scheme that respects the visual sensitivity of the site while honouring the character of the historic barn.
The £250,800 award is complemented by £30,000 from the National Trust for Scotland and £25,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise which together fund the next stage of detailed design work.
The people of Canna hope that this moment marks the beginning of a renewed and sustainable future shaped by the island itself.
