Plans to restore a historic castle and lure tens of thousands of new visitors to the Hebrides every year have been thrown a multimillion-pound lifeline.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the local authority have stepped in to make sure the £18million transformation of Lews Castle into a plush hotel stays on course.
The project will also create tourism accommodation and an innovative museum and modern archive – which is expected to attract up to 50,000 people a year.
The revamp of the crumbling building at Stornoway had been in danger of grinding to a halt because of £3.2million cash shortfall.
But yesterday HIE and Western Isles Council came to the rescue.
The enterprise company will provide £1.7million and the local authority £1.5million to restore the castle – which has been closed for 20 years – to its former glory.
The funding gap had been described as a “critical” risk by the council, and negotiations over the shortfall had been going on for nearly a year.
Eventually, six of the world famous Lewis Chessmen will be on display in the new museum and they are expected to become a massive crowd puller.
When the chessmen visited Stornoway museum in 2011, visitor numbers soared from 15,000 to 23,000.
The new money will complete repairs and build 26 rooms and self-catering flats in the upper floors.
The restored ground floor will be fitted out with a commercial kitchen, cafe, shop and bar.
Natural Retreats – which will operate the upmarket visitor accommodation – is also contributing finance.
Council leader Angus Campbell said: “We were waiting for the last brick in the wall. It took a while but thankfully we’ve got there.
“Its been a very hard road to get here but we now have a fully funded programme in place.
“The council has gone out of its way to make this happen and has put in a lot of its own money.”
Gordon Macdonald, HIE’s senior development manager, said: “This is a very exciting project which promises to develop the potential of Lews Castle as both a cultural and economic asset and will benefit the islands’ communities by creating employment, increasing tourism and further developing the Outer Hebrides as a world class destination.
“We are delighted to support this phase of the project as it takes another significant step forward. The new facilities will be a huge asset for the island community and a major attraction for visitors to the islands and we look forward to seeing Lews Castle return to its former glory.”
The funding issues delayed plans to open the museum this summer, and this has been put back until October. Work on the hotel should be finished by spring next.
The refusal of crucial European funding threatened to kill off the flagship project but “spare” finance became available after other competing bids fell by the wayside, so the council was invited to try again.
The first two phases were funded by a combination of council, HIE, Heritage Lottery Fund, ERDF, Scottish Government and Historic Scotland money.
Built by opium trader and Lewis landlord James Matheson in 1847, the deteriorating A-listed Lews Castle is on the Buildings At Risk Register.
A glass-roofed courtyard links the restored castle to the new museum, archive and learning spaces with Gaelic-led bilingual interpretation throughout the galleries.
Permanent displays, including six of the Lewis Chessmen, will be a highlight and opportunities for temporary or touring exhibitions will be provided in the special exhibitions gallery.