Expansion work has been completed at community hub, Aros an Rubha in Knock with the opening of a new community laundrette, additional parking and extended office space.
The project is an investment of over £500,000, funded by community wind farm charity, Point and Sandwick Trust (PST) and is the result of community consultation carried out in 2018. The laundrette offers a number of commercial washing machines and driers for public use and be run by Aros an Rubha staff. As well as maintaining jobs through management of the laundrette, the community hub will also retain all profits for local benefit.
O’Mac Construction began work at the site in summer 2024 and the community laundrette
is officially opening on Wednesday 19th March. Aros an Rubha Manager, Baiba Reinfield
said of the opening, “The opening of our new laundrette is a wonderful addition to
Aros an Rubha. It significantly enhances the services we offer, providing a much-needed
facility for our community. We hope it will be a well-used and valuable resource
for everyone. We are immensely grateful to Point and Sandwick Trust for their generous
funding (once again!), which has made this project a reality. Their support is invaluable
to the continued success of Aros an Rubha.”
The extension project also adds a further 18 car parking spaces to the site which is home to Buth an Rubha shop and Café Roo, dedicated museum & exhibition space for Comann Eachdraidh An Rubha, archive and storage facilities for community paper The Rudhach, a meeting room with kitchen facilities, hotdesking facilities and PST offices.
PST Manager, DJ MacSween commented on the latest development work, “The new community laundrette at Aros an Rubha will add another element to what is already a thriving hub for the Point area and we are extremely pleased to support its roll out. This investment is in addition to the £500,000 grant award PST made to Urras Stòras An Rubha for the initial renovation project at the old school and we couldn’t be more impressed with the success of Aros an Rubha. From local history exhibitions from Coman Eachdraidh An Rubha, fantastic Christmas events for the kids, the shop, café and more, it’s a pleasure to see the building in such use”.
The new extension comes three years after significant restoration at the site of
the former Knock School was completed. Aros an Rubha opened its doors in 2022 as
a showcase for the use of renewable energy. The predominantly off-grid building
went on to win Best Community Project in the Green Energy Awards for its smart mix
of energy including solar panels, air source heat pump and insulation.
Community laundrette opens in Point
19 March 2025
