The Castle Toward Trust made a bid to purchase Castle Toward from Argyll & Bute Council in early April 2008.  The Council failed to acknowledge this.  The minutes of the meetings following this again restrict access to the information discussed relating to the disposal of Castle Toward, denying insight as to why the bid was being ignored.

Executive Meeting, Thursday 20th November 2008

Read reasons here.

W M Mann, Chairman of the Castle Toward Trust attempted to correspond with now Council Leader Dick Walsh during this time, to ascertain why the Council’s agents, Baird Lumsden, had decided that the proposal made by the Trust’s agents, GL Hearn, was not satisfactory.

  • Dick Walsh advised in April 2008, that Baird Lumsden was refusing this bid, because it was not to a sufficient amount.
  • And yet as W M Mann responded, this was based on the valuation of a reputable professional firm and so a compromise could be met.  A request was also made that W M Mann and Dick Walsh meet in person, in order to progress, in light of the impasse reached between the respective agents.
  • Dick Walsh sent further letters in May explaining that further discussions were required before an appropriate response could be given.  No mention of the requested meeting.

The Council failed to accept this bid despite the fact that Castle Toward Trust / Actual Reality should have been given preference as a bidder, and that is was the only bidder.

The Council denied Actual Reality’s bid because it wants to sell Castle Toward as a housing development.  However, there are difficulties that the Council faces in selling the centre for alternative use.

Other would-be third parties who had shown interest to buy for alternative uses, were discouraged by having to incorporate the financing of ‘Change of Use’ along with the costs of adapting and modernizing the premises.  Companies such as Seasons Holidays visited the premises several times.  This is a holiday company specialising in chalet accommodation.  There were also proposals for a caravan park and then for the Castle to become a hotel, which were quashed due to the considerable difficulties involved for that particular change of use.  This is all reflected in the Council Finalised Plan, which identified the site as having potential for ‘tourism/leisure; business; housing’ uses.

Where the proposed development is contrary to the development plan, permission has to be granted from Scottish Ministers, in a Public Local Inquiry.  There are also implications regarding external agents, for the following reasons:

  • Castle Toward is designated as a Category ‘B’ Listed Building.
  • The grounds it sits in are a designated Garden and a designated landscape.
  • Toward Castle is designated as a Category ‘B’ Listed Building and also a Scheduled Ancient Monument, with features appear on the National Monuments Record of Scotland.

The Council viewed these designations to be ‘constraints’ and instead referred to the components of the premises and estate in the following terms:

  • ‘Sensitive Countryside’
  • ‘Rural Opportunity Area’
  • ‘Area of Panoramic Quality’
  • ‘Potential Development Area’

Consultation with Historic Scotland and / or Scottish Natural Heritage is required to affect designations, with a statutory requirement necessary.  The Regional Archaeologist must also be consulted and restrictions can be imposed on what is developed and how it is developed.

The Council had to consider how to maneuver around these obstacles.

GL Hearn states that a local government will find Change of Use difficult if there is:

‘ … A STRENGTH OF OPPOSITION TO THE COUNCIL’S PROPOSAL THAT IS VOLUMINOUS, REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY AND EXPRESS VIEWS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO PLANNING’.

A solution would present itself if the Council could make the building empty, allowing room for negotiation, for it to be used alternatively.  The Council therefore came to deal a final blow to Actual Reality, effectively evicting the company.  Making it appear to be the fault of Actual Reality, was as an attempt to negate the Council from the legal challenges that the company could assert, in terms of a contract between the two being honoured or compensation paid for the resultant loss to business.

The opportunity to achieve this arose within the months of February and March 2009, when the Castle Toward Trust’s chairman WW Mann corresponded with Council Leader Dick Walsh and Director of Community Services Douglas Hendry, concerning the upgrading Castle Toward required, pre-empting inspections.  Actual Reality and the Castle Toward Trust commissioned architectural reports in this period as Reports on Dilapidations and presented these to the Council in order to be able to gain permission to advance with the requirements, and be pro-active in maintaining the buildings.

  • Douglas Hendry was informed in February that ‘the work detailed is required urgently to prevent the building rapidly deteriorating which cannot be in the interests of either Argyll & Bute or Actual Reality …’
  • At this early stage, Actual Reality and the Castle Toward Trust were imploring the Council to allow for upgrading to begin.  This letter also included a request for negotiations to resume in terms of the Castle Toward Trust’s bid to purchase, a year after it had been made and yet still unacknowledged.
  • W H Mann received a response from Hugh Blake and correspondence appeared to resume in March 2009, in terms of discussing the ‘Identified Areas for Development’.
  • Douglas Hendry similarly responded and claimed that the Dilapidations Report was under consideration and that further contact would be made.  Correspondence in hastening this matter continued until May 2009, by which point, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service had inspected Castle Toward.

The next stage of events is April – November 2009: The Steps To Closure