Plans to demolish a Highland cottage once owned by Jimmy Savile and build a new house on the site have been scrapped.
The haunted house
The Allt-na-Reigh property, in Glencoe, was the residence of the disgraced DJ from 1998 until 2011.
The depraved paedohile is believed to have abused up to 20 people inside his remote lair nestled in the Highlands.
The cottage was bought by the family of retail tycoon Harris Aslam in 2021, who sparked protests from objectors over plans to rip down the building and construct a new three-bed home.
However, Highland Council have now confirmed the application has been withdrawn but said new proposals had been submitted.
Officials said the fresh plans were expected to be available for the public to view by next week.
Highland Council added: ‘Please note that we do not have a timeframe for when the validation will take place so please refer back to the e-planning website over the coming days.’
Harris Aslam, the director of Fife-based Scottish convenience store operator Eros Retail, bought the property for £335,500.
After an online consultation, the company submitted detailed plans to the Highland Council, which showed how the completed three-bedroomed property will look.
They had considered renovating the existing building, which would have been the ‘easiest and cheapest option’.
The cottage sits beside the A82 Fort William to Glasgow road but has been repeatedly vandalised with slogans over the years since Savile’s death.
Documents acknowledged Savile’s links to the property but highlighted it also had a more positive association to celebrated mountaineer Hamish MacInnes.
The eventual plans submitted by the developer sparked protest from objectors who said the proposed home did not fit in with the scenic landscape.
The group also said claims the new build would restore the memories of MacInnes were not ‘substantiated’.
Mountaineering Scotland said the project ‘does not blend in with the landscape or with the style of other buildings seen along the Glen’.
Mountaineering Scotland had earlier said: ‘We urge the Highland Council to refuse planning permission on grounds that the siting and design of this particular development at this specific location is inappropriate and would detract from the quality and character of the landscape in Glencoe.’
Following Saville’s death in 2011, the two-bedroom bungalow was put up for auction and bought for £212,000 by a Glasgow-based builder, before being sold to Harris Aslam 10 years later.
Actor Steve Coogan portrayed Savile in a four-part BBC series, titled The Reckoning, which tracked his rise to becoming one of the biggest stars in British television.
It focused on his years of sexually abusing children and young people and the impact he had on his victims.
