By Eric Nicolson

THE TIMETABLE for the £74 million redevelopment of Taymouth Castle into a hotel complex that will be the last word in luxury has been set down, after Hotels International yesterday confirmed its purchase of the highland Perthshire estate.

Over £3 million was spent by the new owners, Hotels International Limited, during a planning process that dragged out for three years and at times looked like putting the project in jeopardy.

They have set up the Taymouth Highland Village Co Ltd to carry out the redevelopment —expected to take three years.

The focal point will be the renovated ancient castle, formerly the ancestral home of the Clan Campbell, which will retain all of the A-listed principal rooms plus new fractional ownership properties, a Spike Bar (clubhouse) and an extensive state-of-the-art health spa.

An estimated 300 jobs could be created in the Kenmore area by the operational hotel, reinvigorating the local economy.

Michael Hall, spokesperson for the new owners, said, “I am delighted to announce that we have successfully purchased the castle after in excess of three years’ hard work and a £3 million investment in planning costs alone. It is a purchase that has caused us some frustration, however our belief that we could create something special at Taymouth, while protecting the heritage, drove us on.

“Today I am proud to confirm that this exceptional and historic Scottish castle, which has lain empty for the last 30 years, will now be preserved and maintained for Scotland.

Mr Hall added, “Having secured Taymouth’s future, we now look forward to getting down to business and starting the important work of preserving and restoring one of Scotland’s most significant historic buildings and developing it into a world class hotel resort.”

Work on the castle will begin shortly and the immediate focus will be on the repair of the building and roof in order to preserve their integrity and to make the castle water and wind tight.

This will take until the end of the year and, apart from development of the Spike Bar, subject to further approvals no other work will be undertaken on the inside of the building until this has been satisfactorily completed.

A number of structural surveys and assessments will also be carried out over the next few months.

Once these have been completed and approved by the relevant agencies, full plans for the development will be published.

It is hoped this will be in the autumn.

By the new year it is anticipated that a Spike Bar will have been constructed in the west wing of the ground floor to complement the James Braid-designed golf course—which will also be subject to development over the three years—while the first fractional home is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Hotels International spoke of the backing they have received over the last three years, without which Taymouth Castle may not have been bought.

Mr Hall said, “We haven’t arrived here today without the support of a number of key groups and people, who I’d like to thank and also look forward to meeting in the future.

“Despite a slow start, Historic Scotland pulled out all the stops to enable us to buy the castle in the timeframe and we are looking forward to working closely with them as the redevelopment progresses.

“Scottish Ministers took on board what our ultimate aims were and, at every stage, gave their approval, for which we thank them.

“However, this project would never have come to fruition without the unswerving support of the local authority and local community, who know what the development of the castle means to the sustainability of their area.

“We have been touched to have been welcomed into the community, we are grateful to the locals for their friendship and encouragement, and we thank Perth and Kinross Council for their vision in supporting us.”

Mr Hall also praised the “unflagging support” of MSP John Swinney, who said, “This is further good news for the future of the Taymouth Castle project.

“For a while it looked like the project could have fallen through, but a great deal of hard work from all those involved has seen the project get off the ground.”

The castle was built in 1559 for the Campbells of Glenorchy.

It was remodelled at various stages over the subsequent centuries and on the first floor there are a range of ornately designed rooms, including the Banner Hall and the Baron’s Hall.

Particularly impressive is the 100-foot Gothic revival-style tower.

Vast sums of money were spent on upgrades ahead of Queen Victoria’s four-day stay in 1842 during her first tour of Scotland.

In 1922 the castle was redeveloped into a hotel and the cost of staying in one of the most expensive suites was 35 shillings (£1.75).

During the second world war the castle was requisitioned as a hospital for Polish servicemen and in 1969 it became a private school for the children of American servicemen.

The castle has lain empty since 1975, during which time it has been maintained by the Taymouth Castle Hotel Company Ltd.

Up until now, none of the numerous approaches for it have been deemed acceptable or viable.