Pensioner fights on for Dracula castle

floor and roofline of the principal elevation and this amount of architectural detailing is relatively unusual for a hotel in a small settlement.

“In the context of Blackford it is one of the village’s most architecturally distinctive buildings.”

Governmentreportertrevor Croft agreed with HES and dismissed the appeal.

He said: “I have also found that the building accords with the broad principles for listing in terms of its architectural interest.

“It illustrates the development of a certain type of hotel in rural settlements.”

It is a criminal offence to demolish, alter or extend a listed building in any way which would affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest unless listed building consent has been granted.

There are around 47,000 listed buildings in Scotland. A Scots pensioner who succeeded in his decade-long campaign to have a Scottish castle which inspired Bram Stoker’s gothic novel Dracula granted B-listed status has vowed to fight on after it emerged the company which owns it have appealed to have the listing scrapped.

Joe Allan, 84, a retired civil servant from East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, whose campaign, included writing to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, resulted in Slains Castle in Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, receiving listed status in April, said he could not understand why Mountwest 4 Ltd was applying for delisting after the matter had been decided.

“I can only assume the company had found new funding and wants to continue with its initial plans to convert the castle into holiday flats. I have no objection to the housing, but my concern is that it might deny the public access to the grounds.”