Pensioner sinks his teeth into fight to save ‘Dracula castle’
A PENSIONER is fighting to stop an internationally renowned castle linked to Dracula from being turned into holiday flats.
Joe Allan, 83, is trying to save Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire after falling in love with it as a child. The imposing ruin, which dominates the cliff-top skyline near Cruden Bay, is subject to a consultation of whether it should be granted B-listed status by Historic Environment Scotland (HES).
Experts say the floor plan of the ca s t le matches the description of Dracula’s lair in the Bram Stoker novel.
Stoker wrote about “a vast ruined castle, from whos e tall black windows came no ray of light, and whose broken battlements showed a jagged line against the moonlit sky”.
The novelist wrote part of the 1897 Gothic horror story while staying at a nearby cottage, which he used for almost 20 years.
Mr Allan, a retired civil servant from East Kilbride, in South Lanarkshire, spent childhood holidays near the ruin, and wants to save it for the nation. Parts of the castle date from the 16th century.
It came after a consortium, the Slains Partnership, was granted outline planning permission by Aberdeenshire Council for holiday flats.
Mr Allan said: “It is a building of considerable importance, architecturally and historically, it’s a north-east gem.”
Planning application to turn the castle into flats was agreed in 2007. Permission has now expired and any future applications must be scrutinised by HES and Aberdeenshire Council.
A spokesman for HES said: “We welcome input to our consultation closing on February 15.”