Tayvallich bids for estate lots as way of life under threat
At a public meeting in Tayvallich Community Hall last week, the community voted overwhelmingly in favour of bidding for three of 13 lots that are making up the sale of Tayvallich Estate.
The sale of the 3,500-acre Tayvallich estate by the family who have owned it for over 70 years jeopardises the lives of a dozen tenanted households, who fear that they may lose their homes if the estate is broken up or is not sold to one purchaser who maintains the status quo.
The estate has been marketed in 13 lots of varying size and price, from £50,000 for the old schoolhouse at Ulva to £3.25 million for the 1,685-acre Drimnagall ‘mini-estate’, or £10.4 million for the entire estate.
The people of Tayvallich were stunned when earlier this year the owners of the estate announced their decision to sell up.
A closing date for the sale was set for noon yesterday (Thursday November 17) and villagers are hoping for an outcome in their favour.
As a result of the impending sale, the community has come together to form the Tayvallich Initiative to try to bring some of the land into community ownership to address the challenges that it faces: reversing population decline, maintaining jobs, conserving the area’s natural richness, and responding to the climate and biodiversity emergencies.
But prime among these concerns is the desire not to lose residents, who contribute to this vibrant community in all sorts of ways: living and working, running and supporting businesses, sending children to local schools, serving on committees and organisations.
The three lots that the community voted to bid for on Tuesday November 8 have some of the elements of housing and land that it needs.
Initial enthusiasm to stage a community purchase of the whole estate was tempered when it became clear that raising the desired amount in the short time available was unfeasible.
After an options appraisal as part of a Scottish Land Fund (SLF) application, the community reined in its ambitions and set its sights on part of the estate to realise its aspirations of building affordable rental housing, regenerating woodland, and creating rural lifestyle opportunities (eg smallholdings).
The owners of the estate have generously offered a gift to the community of some land and a house, which is a welcome start to creating affordable homes, but to acquire more land to fulfil its other desires, the community has to bid on the open market at this week’s closing date.
‘We really hope that the sellers will choose our bids, even if they are not as high as other offers,’ said one resident.
‘It’s all about the difference between commercial wealth that would be taken out of Argyll and cultural wealth that would be preserved in this area for generations to come.’
Tayvallich Initiative is confident of securing funding from SLF to buy the land, but it is unable to offer more than the valuation price, and the amount of interest in the estate suggests that there may be offers well in excess of the asking prices.
It hopes that the sellers will nevertheless favour its bids to benefit the future of the community and to continue the current owners’ legacy of sympathetic land management and community engagement.
In the meantime, Tayvallich anxiously awaits news of the outcome of the sale, to learn if the tenants can stay in their homes and to find out what the future may hold for this beautiful but beleaguered area.
‘We really hope that the sellers will choose our bids, even if they are not as high as other offers.’