A SCOTTISH island has gone up for sale – for the same price as a three-bed flat in Glasgow.
Pladda, a teardrop-shaped island off the south coast of Arran, extends to almost 28 acres and comes with an “extensive range” of buildings.
The island’s lighthouse, which was first lit in 1790, is included in the sale, as well as the five-bedroom former lighthouse keeper’s accommodation.
However, the buildings have not been used in recent years and will need renovation before they are habitable.
According to the Northern Lighthouse Board, the station was automated in 1990 and the keepers withdrawn, with the light now being remotely monitored from Edinburgh.
Other built features on the islands include a 2.5-acre walled garden, a bothy with a double bedroom and kitchen area, a helipad, and a stone jetty.
Listed with Knight Frank, the island in the Firth of Clyde has views out to the mainland – both Kintyre and the Ayrshire coasts – north to Arran, and south to Ailsa Craig and even Northern Ireland.
Pladda is up for sale for offers over £350,000 – the same as a three-bed flat in Glasgow’s West End, or a three-bed villa in Clarkston.
Proposals put forward by the Scottish Government for a Land Reform Bill which had its consultation open in early July – would not extend to cover Pladda.
This is because the reform bill looks to control "large-scale holdings", which could be defined as an area of 3000 hectares (approximately 7400 acres), or a holding which comprises the majority of an inhabited island.
Other – admittedly much larger – Scottish islands, such as Eigg and Gigha, have found a new lease of life after coming into community ownership.
Tom Stewart-Moore, the agent handling the property, said that while it had only been on the market a couple of days, there had already been an “encouraging” number of inquiries.
He added that there was scope to "upgrade" various buildings on the island to make them habitable.
He told The National: “These opportunities to buy an island like this, untouched, off the West Coast of Scotland don’t come up very often. It’s a pretty rare and exciting opportunity with the potential to develop quite a large range of buildings which are there.
“And while it’s an island it’s very accessible, just off the Ayrshire Coast, just off the south tip of Arran, and of course there’s always that romance of owning and having your own island, so it’s certainly going to capture the imagination.”
The estate agents also say the island is known as a great spot for wildlife. As well as being close to passing dolphins, basking sharks and seals, Pladda is an important breeding ground and stop-off point for a variety of migratory seabirds.
Knight Frank said over 100 species of birds have been recorded on Pladda island in the past, including breeding colonies of Arctic Terns, various gulls, Turnstones and Shags.
More information can be found on Knight Frank’s website.
