AN Ayrshire castle and estate are up for sale six years after they had
been bought to be transformed into a five-star hotel and leisure
complex.
Rowallan Castle, between Fenwick and Kilmaurs, was sold by the Corbett
family in 1989 in a move described at the time as ''sad but
inevitable''.
Since then, the slack leisure market has seen the plans come to
nothing and the owners, property development company Alexander George,
has been advised by bankers to put the estate on the market.
The fourth Lord Rowallan, who moved from the family home to live
nearby, has expressed his disappointment at the failure of the original
plans and warned that the estate should not simply become a private
home.
The estate, with its grade A listed castle dating from the thirteenth
century and ''new'' castle built for the family in 1901, extends to 281
acres. It includes a separate working farm with staff cottages, stables,
and garages.
At the time, Lord Rowallan, then heir to the title, made it clear that
the estate was being sold for development but the dream failed to turn
into reality.
''I know that the estate now has nothing to do with me any longer but
I am disappointed that nothing has happened about the original plans
which were exciting and would have met our wishes that the castle and
estate should be available to the public,'' he said.
He said there was a clause in the sale preventing it becoming a
private house.
The estate is now in the hands of the Ayrshire division of Bell
Ingram, who were called in by Alexander George and the TSB to market the
property.
It is available in eight lots, including offers over #650,000 for the
''new'' castle.
The entire estate and buildings are valued in excess of #1.2m.
Bell Ingram makes it clear that there are various planning consents in
place, including those for a hotel and conference centre, 18-hole
championship golf course and timeshare development.
Mr John Cowan, of Bell Ingram, said: ''The estate has already
attracted considerable interest and there is one potential buyer looking
at it with a view to creating a top-class hotel.''
Mr Cowan said one of the most important conditions of the sale is the
deed of guardianship, which makes it essential for the original castle
to be preserved and for public access to be made available.
Rowallan came into the hands of the Corbett family in 1901. The family
were landowners and merchants in Glasgow.
Mr Archibald Cameron Corbett, a Liberal MP, found the old castle too
cramped and called in the rising young architect Robert Lorimer to
design a new country home.
Lorimer, like his contemporaries Rennie Mackintosh and Lutyens,
designed the house and many of the pieces of furniture which it
contained.
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