A collective sigh of relief could be felt around the region this week as news of the approval for demolition of the Glencoe cottage once owned by Jimmy Savile got out.
The notorious paedophile’s former holiday home will be flattened to make way for a modern house and outbuilding dedicated to mountaineer Hamish MacInnes, who previously owned the building.
Plans to demolish the cottage, named Allt-na-Reigh, were given the green light after councillors voted unanimously for the proposal at a meeting of Highland Council planning applications committee on Tuesday June 18 (see full story on page 5).
The house is situated in a scenic area of the Glencoe valley close to the A82 and near the iconic pass. It looks towards the Three Sisters mountain and a popular walking route to the Lost Valley and is backdropped by the hills forming the Aonach Eagach ridge.
Glen Coe was designated a Nature Reserve in 2018 in recognition of its beauty and natural heritage with Alt-Na-Reigh surrounded by NTS land, which is visited by hundreds of thousands of people a year.
The site’s natural and cultural heritage goes back far beyond Savile’s unfortunate chapter.
Demolition will let the place breathe, move on, and come to mean something else. Eradication of the now gloomy dwelling will flood the scene with a much needed and long-awaited welcome light.
Yes! I would like to be sent emails from West Coast Today
I understand that my personal information will not be shared with any third parties, and will only be used to provide me with useful targeted articles as indicated.
I'm also aware that I can un-subscribe at any point either from each email notification or on My Account screen.