What happens next to Jimmy Savile’s Scottish lair after rotting home caught fire

The future of notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile’s former home is under scrutiny yet again after the building caught fire.

Police and the fire service raced to the building, named Allt-Na-Reigh, in Glencoe, Scotland, on Saturday evening.

Savile moved into the two-bedroom bungalow in 1998, but the home has stood empty since his death in 2011.

He reportedly first saw the home during a cycling trip in 1944, and he even once hosted King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, as a dinner guest.

Police raided the property about a year after Savile’s death to look for evidence of his crimes. It’s now thought he abused up to 20 victims there.

Since the BBC presenter’s offending came to light, the home has been broken into and vandalised several times.

Words like ‘beast’ and ‘paedo’ have been scrawled on the exterior of the property a number of times since then, despite the building being whitewashed to try and deter further graffiti.

Savile had left orders for the two-bedroom cottage to be handed over to the community after his death, but this was put on hold after Scotland Yard launched its investigation into his crimes.

But after being left to rot for 14 years, what is next for Allt-Na-Reigh?

Following Savile’s death, the bungalow was put up for auction and purchased for £212,000 in 2013.

It’s was listed with a guide price of £100,000, and it’s thought the buyer intended to move into the property and live there.

At the time of the auction, it was described as ‘a traditional refurbished detached cottage in an attractive location within scenic Highland countryside’.

Proceeds from the auction were added to Savile’s estate and used to compensate his victims.

The home was then bought by Harris Aslam, the director of Green’s grocery chain, for a reported £335,000.

In November 2021, the owners submitted an application to demolish the building and build a new modern home in its place.

However, this application drew complaints as neighbours and bodies like the National Trust for Scotland said the new building would ‘distract and detract from the immersive experience of travelling through a landscape that is renowned and valued across the world’, Leeds Live reports.

The application was then withdrawn in November 2023, and new plans were submitted shortly after.

The new application, which was approved in June 2024, sought permission to demolish the existing home and build a new four-bedroom one-and-a-half storey house, with a two-storey rear section.

The two buildings will be linked by a single storey walkway with a flat grass roof.

Allt-Na-Reigh is one of only six houses along a 10-mile stretch of the A82 through Glencoe.

It once served as a house on a croft and a road workers’ cottage, and was previously home to Scottish inventor and climber Dr Hamish MacInnes.

Outbuildings where Dr MacInnes worked on his designs, including ice axes and stretchers used by mountain rescue teams worldwide, will be redeveloped and named Hamish House to celebrate him.

A council report said: ‘The property has been subject to vandalism and graffiti directed towards a former owner and is now in a very poor state.

‘Aside from the negativity arising from the former owner, there are also very positive local associations to the property relating to the respected mountaineer who once owned the property.’

Despite planning permission for Allt-Na-Reigh’s demolition and redevelopment getting the green light last summer, work is yet to begin at the site.

Planning law means the owners have three years to start construction before their planning permission lapses and they must re-apply to carry out the work.

A Highland Council spokesperson confirmed to Metro the expiry date for this planning permission is June 25, 2027.

So, luckily for the people who live in and visit the beautiful Glencoe landscape, the graffiti-covered blot on the landscape should soon be gone, erasing the visual evidence of disgraced Savile’s association with the area.

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