Islanders take on tycoons

Five Scots in bid to buy isle, fearing their idyllic life may end

ULVA ( United Kingdom): When tycoons in helicopters began landing on Scotland’s Isle of Ulva, its five tenants feared their way of life might be coming to an end.

The remote island of pristine beaches, lush hills and craggy coastlines was put on the market this year after decades of ownership by an aristocratic family.

Now the islanders are using a law introduced last year by Scotland’s nationalist government to suspend the sale and give themselves time to buy the land, hoping a government fund will help them do so.

“I think community ownership is the way forward,” said Emma McKie, 33, who remembers a time when a thriving farming community lived on the 12km long island off Scotland’s west coast.

They are facing a deadline of June 2018 to buy the island off its “laird” Jamie Howard, who put it up for sale for £4.25mil (RM 23.8mil).

The glossy sales brochure for Ulva offered prospective buyers the unique opportunity to own “one of the finest private islands in northern Europe” when it was first put up for sale in July.

Well-groomed tycoons with Russian and Middle Eastern sound- ing accents began flying in for viewings.

McKie said islanders were concerned that any outside buyer may remove the tenants and close off the island.

“If you have that kind of money, why would you keep the island open to the public, why wouldn’t you keep it for yourself?” said McKie, who runs the island’s only cafe with her sister-in-law Rebecca Munro.

The Land Reform Act passed by Scotland’s pro-independence First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s government allows for the sale of private assets to be suspended to give com- munity bodies the right to buy the land. The 10 million Scottish Land Fund gives annual grants to worthy projects and Ulva’s residents are hoping the fund will go over its usual limit of £1mil (RM5.6mil).

The legislation has far-reaching implications in a region where half the land is owned by just 500 people, many of them absentee aristocratic landlords with castles and vast country estates.

Ulva is an idyllic location with views of Ben More mountain and the spectacular Eas Fors Waterfall on the neighbouring island of Mull.

Paradise on earth: The boathouse cafe, which attracts around 5,000 visitors a year, is seen across the water on the Isle of Ulva, off Scotland’s west coast. (Left) Munro posing by the island shore.