Residents of Sollas in North Uist must return to the drawing board after being told that their renewable energy project cannot be taken forward for funding.
The community has fallen foul of Scottish Government spending cuts which will see many other small-scale renewable energy proposals across the Outer Hebrides also left high and dry.
The Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (Cares), administered by Community Energy Scotland (CES), was due to run until 2011, but has been abruptly closed to new applicants.
A statement by Finance Minister Jim Mather said it is facing financial pressures.
This effectively ends two years of work by the committee of Taigh Sgire Sollas, who were in the process of applying for a 90% grant towards a renewable energy scheme and insulation for the former Dunskellar School, now run by residents as a community centre.
The news is a blow to the 120-strong community which has worked to raise the funds to restore the old school.
Funds from Cares would have contributed about half of the £100,000 restoration. In addition, residents have already raised £16,000 to reslate the roof, and have used volunteer local skills and labour to rewire the building and improve the floor.
Mr Mathers said the cuts only impact on new applications, with “all projects currently going through the system and supported by development officers to be funded”.
However, despite working with a CES officer for a year, Sollas residents have been told their project cannot be funded.
Retired architect Douglas Hutton, of Malaglate, who drew up the restoration plans for the school, branded Mr Mather’s statement “disingenuous.” He said: “The fact that we have been told there is no funding for our project suggests that projects like ours are not ‘going through the system’.
“Maybe he has been poorly briefed, but he has a responsibility to be accurate.