Contract award
Lewis Builders takes the Harris visitor centre at 4.78 million pounds
By Staff Writer | 06-09-2026
Tighean Innse Gall has recorded the appointment of Lewis Builders Ltd as principal contractor for the Hebrides People Visitor Centre at Northton on the Isle of Harris. The contract was signed on 20 July 2026 at 4,779,289.06 pounds excluding value added tax. Two bids were received. The form of contract is the Standard Building Contract with Quantities for use in Scotland, 2016 edition.
What the works are
Tenders are invited for the provision of a Principal Contractor to provide contractor services for the delivery of the proposed Hebrides People Visitor Centre, Northton, Isle of Harris. The works consist of the alteration and extension of an existing two storey timber framed building, the construction of a new stand-alone two storey accommodation block and all associated external works and site servicing to create the new Hebrides People Visitor Centre.
Tighean Innse Gall, contract award notice
Three strands of work sit inside the single lot. The first is the alteration and extension of a building that already stands, described on the record as two storey and timber framed. The second is a new two storey accommodation block, which the notice records as stand-alone rather than attached to the existing structure. The third is the external works and site servicing needed to bring the two together as one centre.
The classification codes attached to the lot run from building construction work through construction work for buildings relating to leisure, sports, culture, lodging and restaurants, then to timber carpentry and joinery work and to roof covering and roof framing work. The award is categorised as works. The delivery location is recorded as Northton, Isle of Harris.
The buyer is recorded as a body governed by public law, with its activity classified under recreation, culture and religion. Its registered address is in Francis Street, Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis. It is also recorded as a central purchasing body, so the notice carries two roles for the same organisation.
Two bids, and the form of contract named on the record
The bid statistics for the lot record two bids received, of which two were submitted electronically. None came from a small or medium sized enterprise on the record's own count, and none came from within the European Union. The procurement method is recorded as open and the notice states that the contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement.
The lot description names both the procurement route and the building contract that follows it.
Single stage procurement for the appointment of a Principal Contractor. Form of contract is the Standard Building Contract with Quantities for use in Scotland- SBC/Q/Scot (2016 Edition)
Tighean Innse Gall, contract award notice, lot description
A named form with quantities carries consequences that matter to anyone pricing or administering the job. The bills form part of the contract documents, so an error in them is corrected as a variation rather than absorbed by the contractor, and the valuation rules in the contract govern how that correction is priced. The notice records the form and the edition and does not publish the schedule of amendments, so what has been altered in this particular contract is not on the record.
The dates, the value and what the notice does not say
The contract is recorded as signed on 20 July 2026. The award notice reached the register on 4 September 2026, six weeks and five days later. The total value of the procurement and the total value of the contract are recorded as the same figure, 4,779,289.06 pounds excluding value added tax, so the record carries no separate estimate against which the outturn can be read.
The successful tenderer is registered at Rigs Road, Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis, which puts the contractor and the client on the same island and the works on the next one south. The record classifies that contractor as a large organisation.
No start date, no completion date and no contract period appear anywhere on the release. Neither does a breakdown between the alteration works, the new block and the external works, and the tender documents are not published on the register. The review body named for any challenge is Stornoway Sheriff Court.