Island cafe up for sale with £20,000 price tag

A CAFE on the remote Hebridean Isle of Canna is seeking a new owner.

Cafe Canna, situated near the island’s harbour, has been placed on the market with an asking price of £20,000.

The move follows numerous appeals to attract new settlers to the tiny island, south of Skye.

The island’s current population is thought to be around 15.

The cafe was established in 2014 by Chris Deplano, who leased vacant premises from the island’s landlord, the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), following a community appeal to repopulate the island after numbers fell to just nine residents.

Since then, the 18-seater cafe has won a number of awards.

Mr Deplano said owning the cafe had been a “magical adventure” but he has decided it is now time to “hand the apron on to someone else”.

The Isle of Canna was donated to the NTS in 1981 and has since been part of a global recruitment drive to find new settlers to repopulate it.

However, it has been dogged by a number of rows, with many families leaving the island after their dreams to live at the outpost turned sour.

Following the latest dispute, involving a family of five who left the island, the NTS has handed control of Canna’s regeneration to a development trust run by residents.

A spokesman for NTS stated: “We fully support Chris and the island community in seeking new proprietors for Cafe Canna and hope the great work and excellent service can continue.”