Group seeks views on Kinloch Castle future
A community group is stepping up its efforts to secure the future of Kinloch Castle on the Isle of Rum.
Kinloch Castle Friends Association (KCFA) is inviting Rum residents, visitors and interested members of the public to help it progress its business plan by taking a survey seeking views on the future of the historic 19th-century hunting lodge.
An interim business plan, published last month, was produced to support the association's request for asset transfer of the castle from the current owners, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), which has no further operational need for the castle and no resources to maintain it.
According to the plans, the castle will be restored, the first phase being to address urgent repairs to enable castle rooms to reopen, with initially 14 double bedrooms.
SNH is working on a package of funding to accompany asset transfer. KCFA secretary Catherine Duckworth said: ‘The survey is part of the work towards our final business plan concerning asset transfer of Kinloch Castle from SNH to a not-for-profit group created by KCFA.’
Built in 1897, Kinloch Castle is a category-A listed building. It closed in 2013 having previously been run as a hotel. The castle has been labelled as the most complete example of an Edwardian shooting lodge there is, with the exception of Balmoral. The current plan is to have castle rooms up-and-running and generating income from Easter 2019, including a bistro and bar. A recent report to KCFA by Smith & Garratt, surveyors with expertise in heritage projects, estimated the total cost of restoration of the castle at £7.88 million.
The survey can be found online at the Kinloch Castle Friends Facebook group or by emailing enquiries@kinlochcastlefriends.org.