Jimmy Savile had plans to destroy a Highland cottage, but he was stopped by thousands of climbers who felt that the building didn’t match the natural landscape.
Mountaineering Scotland’s more than 15,000 members said the new design for Glencoe’s luxury home was not compatible with Glencoe’s scenic surroundings.
They also claimed claims that the new building would bring back memories of Hamish McInnes, an iconic mountaineering leader, who was once its owner were not supported.
They are trying to prevent the demolition of Allt-na-Reigh’s property, where DJ Savile was a disgraced resident from 1998 through his death in 2011.
Mountaineering Scotland have objected to the demolition of a cottage once owned by paedophile DJ Jimmy Savile because the new building doesn’t blend with landscape. Pictured: Designs for the property at Allt-na-Reigh in Glencoe
After revelations about his prolific sex offenses, cottages were vandalized and slogans spray-painted on the walls.
The remote cottage was believed to have been used by the paedophile to abuse as many as 20 children.
The cottage was bought for a reported £335,000 by the family of retail tycoon, Harris Aslam, who decided they would let locals have their say on its future.
Following an online consultation, they decided to replace the existing cottage with a modern home and flatten it.
Highland Council has received detailed plans that show the final appearance of the three-bedroomed home.
The cottages have been vandalised repeatedly and graffitied with slogans after the revelations that Savile was a prolific perpetrator of sex offences.
According to some reports, the remote cottage was used to abuse 20 to 25 people by the paedophile.
Although documents recognize Savile’s historical connections, they also emphasize that Savile had an even more positive relationship to MacInnes.
Mountaineering Scotland claimed that the project doesn’t blend with the Glen or the architecture of any other buildings.
Another issue raised by the group was the assertion that new plans would acknowledge MacInnes achievements.
The designers stated that they intended to convert the building into habitable, associated accommodation.
“The elevation plans are very similar to the outbuilding, making it difficult to understand how Hamish MacInnes’ claim of strengthening the legacy of Hamish MacInnes can be substantiated.”
“We ask the Highland Council for permission to deny planning permission because the design and siting of this particular development in this location would be inappropriate. This could affect the Glencoe landscape’s quality and character.”
Cameron McNeish, a mountaineer and writer, has previously resisted calls to bulldoze property due to its association to MacInnes. He said that the history of the property should not be overlooked by the paedophile.
Other people have protested against the demolition of the cottage since its original proposal in 2012 was made.
Mountaineer, writer and broadcaster Cameron McNeish challenged the calls because of its connection to mountaineer MacInnes, saying its history should not be allowed to be overshadowed by the paedophile.
MacInnes made the property his home in the 1960s, 1970s.
‘For me that house will always have associations with Hamish MacInnes, not only because Hamish is probably our greatest Scottish mountaineer,’ Mr McNeish told BBC Radio Scotland.
“That’ll always be Hamish’s house, and it will continue to have the mountaineering history significance.
“It would be shame if these mountaineering memories were lost along with Jimmy Savile’s tarnished ones.”
McNeish suggested that McNeish should retain the property and use it for the benefit of the community as a museum, hut for mountaineers or home.
Since his death at 84, the cottage was repeatedly vandalized with slogans such as “Glen Savile”
It is thought that the paedophile was a depraved paedophile who abused as many as 20 victims in his isolated lair.
It is located next to the A82 Fort William-Glasgow road.
Following his death in 2011, the two-bedroom bungalow was put up for auction and bought for £212,000 by a Glasgow-based builder.
Asbestos was already discovered in pipes found in the cottage’s outbuilding.
Before the property can be demolished, it will need to be taken down.
The decision will be made by the planners in the shortest time possible.