Future
After much preliminary work over the previous 12 months, April 2007 saw the purchase of RAF Saxa Vord's Domestic Site, plus the road up to the Mid Site, by Military Asset Management (MAM), a company owned by Highland entrepreneur, Frank Strang. Recognising that military bases tend to be situated in remote rural areas, and that their closure (as a result of the "Cold War peace dividend") can have devastating economic and social consequences for local communities, MAM was established as a private sector business to transform closing bases into self-sustaining, profitable enterprises, encouraging and fostering economic regeneration in the process.
Saxa Vord is being redeveloped into a new tourism venture: Britain's first "residential natural and cultural heritage activity centre", all based on the fascinating and spectacular island of Unst. The concept is simple: to attract like-minded people from all over the world to stay at Saxa Vord, where they will enjoy unique insights into some of the North Atlantic's most iconic natural and cultural heritage.
The first phase is complete, and Saxa Vord currently (2007) offers 20 self-catering holiday houses and a 16-bedroom bunkhouse, together with a restaurant and bar. 2008 will see the launch of a new hotel, leisure facilities and a guided walks/evening talks programme. Local people are being employed whenever possible, and there is direct local involvement in the business. For example, Sonny Priest, owner of Unst's famous Valhalla Brewery, manages and supplies the bar at Saxa Vord, and is about to relocate his brewery to the site.
Read more about this topic: RAF Saxa Vord
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