Plagued by deer from Cameron Mackintosh’s estate, villagers have become...
HE is the theatre impresario whose fortune is built on the success of blockbuster shows like Cats and Les Misérables.
But billionaire producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh is now at the centre of an angry row involving a very different beast – wild deer.
A world away from the bright lights of London’s West End, residents of the village of Mallaig, Inverness-shire, have complained they are being overrun by animals from the 75-year-old’s sprawling estate, making their lives a misery.
Flocking down from the hills, herds of deer have been invading villagers’ gardens and eating their flowers and shrubs.
As well as interrupting traffic, stags have also been menacing dog walkers.
The situation has become so bad that a government body has officially classified the deer as a ‘threat to public safety’.
In a dramatic intervention, NatureScot has ordered the landowner to take urgent action to cut deer numbers – meaning the theatre mogul more used to curtain calls must now carry out a cull.
Sir Cameron, who has amassed a fortune of £1.2 billion from smashhit musicals including The Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon, bought the 14,000-acre Nevis Estate in 1994.
There are around 300 deer on the estate – and residents estimate up to 40 are now regularly roaming the nearby village of Mallaig. Port assistant Paul Dean, 33, said: ‘The stags are getting out of hand.
There is a switch stag, so-called because of the sharp style and shape of antlers. If it attacks, it can be quite a threat.
‘They are not even frightened of dogs. They are moving onto the people now. They are bold.’
Harbour master James McLean, 71, said: ‘I don’t have a problem with the deer but they are ruining the village. Culling them is Cameron’s responsibility.’
Deer are classed as a wild species and the right to kill them is restricted to the owner of the land on which they live. A meeting was held recently between Mallaig Community Council, the factor for Sir Cameron’s estate and NatureScot.
The council said: ‘Many residents described how deer in the area had destroyed their gardens, eaten plants, managed to find their way onto the football pitch, walked along the road during the day close to the centre of the village etc.’ Andrew MacMaster, of NatureScot, agreed that the wild deer population surrounding Mallaig is ‘too high’. He warned: ‘If the deer are not controlled, then the population will continue to increase, along with the risks to public safety.’
Yesterday Andrew Aitchison, from Sir Cameron’s estate, said the theatre impresario was taking the issue seriously.
He added: ‘We’ve listened to the community council who raised issues and NatureScot who are the statutory body.
‘They want the deer removed. That is what we are doing.’
The deer will now be encouraged to leave the village to be culled away from people’s homes.
However, not everyone is happy with the plans. Retired railway conductor Patrick Burns, 68, regularly enjoys seeing deer in his garden.
He said: ‘I’ve named two of them Rudolph and Randolph. I open my curtains and there’ll be a great big stag or two, grazing. They come down regularly. I don’t think they should be culled. They’ve been around longer than we have. It’s their land. They are animals and should be free to roam.’
Although he grew up in London, Sir Cameron spent childhood holidays in Mallaig. He later explained why he bought the Nevis Estate, saying: ‘For all its remoteness, it is a very special place and there is no place like it.’
‘The deer are not even frightened of dogs’