Historic Scottish village being turned into an exclusive £300m playground by US developers
26 July 2023, 15:04
A picturesque Scottish village is being transformed into a playground for the mega-rich after US developers bought up the area, campaigners claim.
Kenmore in Perthshire was a filming location for the 1997 Judi Dench film Mrs Brown and is known for its wildlife and woodland estate.
But locals are furious over plans by Discovery Land Company to build a 320-hectare gated community on the Taymouth estate and neighbouring Glenlyon estate.
They fear billionaires are trying to create a "playground" for the super-rich with 208 luxury homes in Kenmore. The village has already seen its local hotel and post office close.
An online group called 'Protect Loch Tay' has been launched with the aim of halting the development and protecting the area's wildlife and natural beauty.
Locals in the village, which only has about 100 residents, are worried about the impact on the local populations of beavers, otters, birds and rare fish.
They also say the Taymouth estate, which was once freely open for walkers, is now cordoned off with 'path closed' signs and security warnings - with the castle, built in 1806, covered in scaffolding amid a major £300million restoration project.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited the castle during their honeymoon in 1842 and is said to have sparked the monarch's love of Scotland. Cher and Madonna were both said to have looked at purchasing the castle in the 1990s.
But in 2018 it was bought by Discovery Land Company and John Paul DeJoria, a hair care magnate worth £2.4billion who co-founded Paul Mitchell hair products and is married to Eloise Broady, a former Playboy model.
Taxi firm owner Rob Jamieson, who founded Protect Loch Tay, told the Observer: "They're taking away ground that's been an amenity for people for years and making it exclusive in the name of profit.
"This isn't a hotel where you can take your wife out for a meal, or a golf course where you can go along and play. It's all for their very rich members and not the community that's already here."
Mr Jamieson, whose group has more than 2,000 members on Facebook, said: "I'm not an expert - I'm just a local person who doesn't want to see the place spoiled.
"They say they want to build a 'community' here, but we already have a community. These plans only exist to squeeze profit out of it.
"The group has also launched a petition for the Scottish Government to block further work, and this has already attracted more than 15,000 signatures since it was launched 11 days ago.
The petition states: "The developers are a group of American billionaires who specialise in exclusive gated 'worlds' for the super-rich. This is not what Scotland is about.
"We don't need an influx of American millionaires and their speed boats, watersports and helicopter taxis, destroying our peaceful loch which is enjoyed by not only local residents, but tens of thousands of visitors every year - by way of fishing, walking, canoeing, nature watching, sailing etc.
"All peaceful pursuits natural to our tranquil and beautiful Loch Tay."
Discovery Land Company is real estate development company based in Arizona which describes itself as specialising in 'luxury residential family homes built in private club communities' in the US.
The development in Kenmore is the firm's first offering in Britain, and it has described it as a "a community including 208 residential units and club suites".
It will also have a clubhouse, sports centre and wellness facility. The firm added that the site is only "30 minutes by helicopter" to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The area's two senior Scottish National Party politicians – Pete Wishart MP and John Swinney MSP – are holding a meeting tomorrow to hear concerns from residents.
A Discovery Land Company spokesman told the Observer that the company is "committed to restoring the estate and securing a sustainable future for the local area in partnership with the community and with respect for the local environment."
They added: "The community is being kept updated on progress via the Kenmore and District community council and the project website."
A statement from Kenmore and District Community Council on its website says: "The council is entirely independent and has not taken a position either way on the overall development.
"The decision to approve the development was taken by the planning authority many years ago and is no longer for discussion.
We do believe that both positives and negatives will result for the district and we want to ensure that there are more of the former than the latter."
