'Considerable interest' in sale of island castle and land at heart of clan controversy
The closing date for the castle sale is drawing near
An island castle and land has attracted “considerable interest” from potential buyers as clan members try to halt the sale.
Armadale Castle and the South Sleat Estate on Skye, which spans almost 20,000 acres, are on the market for a combined price of more than £9.5 million.
It is being sold off in a controversial move by the Clan Donald Lands Trust (CDLT), a charity set up around more than 50 years ago to raise funds to buy the castle and ancestral land.
The trust said it could no longer afford to run the castle and visitor centre - but clan members claim the assets are theirs and held in perpetuity for them.
CDLT has released a statement after it was announced on Friday that OSCR, Scotland’s charity regulator, was examining the finances of the trust and decision making around the sell-off of the assets. As a result, clan members have refreshed calls for the sale to be halted.
The statement from CDLT said the trust had acted “fully within their powers in line with legal advice” and had taken decisions “in what they believe to be the best interests of the charity and its long-term sustainability”.
Regarding the sale, it added: “There has been considerable interest in both estates, and a number of serious parties are now well advanced in their due diligence.
“The Trustees remain hopeful that offers will be forthcoming which enable Armadale to continue as a whole.
“The Trustees hope the right buyer will create new opportunities for local employment, bring estate assets into productive and viable use, and work constructively with local stakeholders to support crofting and broader community interests.
“Among the many ideas and opportunities discussed, we are encouraged by the enthusiasm of numerous interested parties to preserve the castle and gardens for future generations.
“We continue to liaise regularly with crofting representatives, agricultural tenants, and the Sleat Community Trust. All parties agree that securing a major investor would be a significant step toward a successful and sustainable future for the area.”
A major source of anger surrounding the sale is the lack of consultation surrounding the development, which was announced in March.
One key concern is the multiple memorials, from trees to benches, that run through the castle grounds and commemorate Clan Donald members from around the world, and which were not mentioned in the original sales brochure.
The campaign has long waited for updates on this particular point. The statement said that CDLT was “fully committed to working with any future owner to ensure the “respectful stewardship” of the memorials.
The statement added: “Honouring the legacy of those commemorated here is, and will remain, a priority throughout this transitional period. It is equally reassuring that many prospective buyers have already expressed strong commitments to preserving existing memorials and safeguarding the site’s heritage for generations to come.”
The trust said the decision to sell the assets reflected the “urgent need” to realign the trust’s resources given the “significant financial challenges” facing the charity.
A major issue has been the ending of a large donation from a long-term backer in the US, who has now died.
The statement added: “The Armadale visitor centre has never been financially self-sustaining year-round, and its continued operation has relied on long-term dependence on a single major grant funder.
“While the current museum contains important elements of Clan Donald history, it reaches only a limited annual audience.”
The trust also committed to using some of the proceeds of the sale to build a new museum and exhibition centre, which they said would be “ideally till based on Skye”, and a digital collection.
Artefacts and papers gathered by the trust will still be accessible at Armadale over the summer, with an audit of the collection then to be carried out.
The closing date for the castle and land sale is August 28.
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