Sandwickhill Development Trust has marked another important milestone with the appointment of Gordon Matheson as its new Community Hub Development Manager.
The announcement follows completion of the purchase and handover of the former Sandwickhill School to the community, previously reported in welovestornoway.
Gordon comes to Sandwickhill after three years as business manager at Horshader Community Development and has been working in the community development sector for five or six years since his last full-time post in the Free Church, where he was minister at Sleat and Strath in Skye.
He has continued to preach on an occasional basis, though, and told welovestornoway there were comparisons between leading a congregation and working with a community.
“It’s a really funny one because a lot of the skill set is kind of the same,” he said. “You’re putting people first, trying to understand what people are looking for and working with them to deliver something meaningful together.
“That’s what church life is, when you’re a minister. You’re dealing with the congregation and trying to work together to deliver congregational life. And when you’re working in community development, you’re working with a community trying to deliver community life.
“So in a sense, the skill sets are very, very similar. You’re researching, planning, organising, all of that. In that sense, the skill sets are very transferable.”
Gordon still preaches “fairly regularly” although he has reduced his commitments temporarily while he adjusts to his new job.
Normally, he preaches around the island, particularly visiting the congregations in Barvas, Callanish and Stornoway.
Weekend preaching alongside full-time work does require something of a balancing act, he conceded – but he no longer preaches twice on a Sunday, limiting himself to one service, and said the trick to “manage your diary really well”.
Gordon said the development manager post at Sandwickhill appealed because it was “a new challenge”. Also, living in Stornoway, he welcomed the prospect of no longer having to commute across the Barvas moor.
Looking forward, he said the project at Sandwickhill was “really interesting, a great project” and described the redevelopment of the school as having “huge potential”.
The completion of the purchase brings the former school building into community ownership and gives Sandwickhill Development Trust a new asset from which to develop facilities, activities and services for the local community.
With the purchase and handover now complete, attention can turn towards developing the building’s future use and putting arrangements in place to support its long-term operation.
Gordon will be helping to lead that next stage of work.
He said: “Sandwickhill has reached a really exciting point. Securing the former school gives the community a significant asset and, more importantly, an opportunity to think about what we can build around it for the future.
“My first priority is to listen and learn. I want to work with the Trust, local organisations and the wider community to understand what people would like to see happening here and how we can make the best possible use of the building.
“There is a lot of work ahead, but there is also enormous potential. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to be part of the next stage of Sandwickhill’s development.”
Ken Kennedy, Chair of Sandwickhill Development Trust, said: “The completion of the purchase and handover of the former Sandwick School is a major milestone for the Trust and for the community.
“It has taken a great deal of work to reach this point, and we are very grateful to Point and Sandwick Trust, HIE and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar for their support in helping to make the handover possible.“
The Trust also thanked SHARE for the work they have done to provide continuity in maintaining hall bookings and community access during the transition.
Ken added: “We are delighted to welcome Gordon as our Hub Development Manager. His appointment gives the Trust additional capacity as we move from acquiring the building into the next phase: establishing it as a sustainable, active community hub and working with local people to shape its future.”
Over the coming months, the Trust will be working on the practical development and operation of the former school, building relationships with community groups and other partners, like energy developers, and creating opportunities for local people to contribute to plans for its future.
The first of these discussions will be the Pride In Place community consultation event on Friday (25 September).
The event takes place from 5pm, when a buffet will be served, and there will be a bouncy castle to entertain young people while the conversations around local priorities take place.
All are welcome to attend from Sandwickhill and the wider Stornoway South area to share their views.
