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This page has a considerable amount of information and several photographs. Some of which may seem surplus to requirements. However, the nature of this matter may require information that a prospective Buyer would, in due course seek to obtain. It is the Seller's view that in these circumstances it is better to have ample detail than insufficient.
Please forgive any typing errors or grammar issues. This page is time-critical. Any errors will be corrected in the next few days. Thank-you.
TEMPORARY ILLUSTRATION PAGE & PLAN DRAWINGS ETC
Keeper’s Cabin & Also Lot 15
At: Noss Head Lighthouse Station,
Wick, Caithness, KW1 4QT.
Head Title: CTH5579.
From Which Subsidiary Titles 11 & 15 Are Distilled Off.
^^ Lot 11: Keeper’s Cabin & Garden^^
This DRAFT plan is based on HM Land Registry Registers of Scotland title CTH5579. It requires to be shown to buyer “SK” to ensure she is content with the boundaries.
=> Does the plan for “Lot 11” on the map shown above this couple of paragraphs match the outline of what our client: “SK” is wanting to buy?
The first property is Keeper’s Cabin…
^^ Lot 11: Keeper’s Cabin ^^
The plans about to be sent to the professional HM Land Registry approved cartographer are first being shown to the prospective buyer, “SK” to ensure they match what she understands as being:-
=> (a) The boundary for Keeper’s Cabin? and,
=> (b) The boundary to what “SK” asked for?
Specifically, at the “Lot 15” parcel of land.
We are happy to oblige. This is the original sketch for “Lot 15”. This is what the agent sent to us following liaison with “SK”…
^^ Lot 15: Added Parcel of Land^^
1]. For tax reasons, Lot 11 and Lot 15 must be sold separately.
During the formal offer process from “SK” to owner of the site title CTH5579, being: Noss Head Lighthouse Station Ltd., the neighbour to Keeper’s Cabin and owner of the semi-detached building next door got in touch with the current owners of the fully renovated Keeper’s Cabin.
The adjacent semi-detached Principal Keeper’s Cottage has evidence of being separate for over 4 years (and also the price of what was an unmodernised, semi-derelict building: click here).
The neighbour who owns Principal Keeper’s cottage got in touch with a difficulty and needed some help.
The gentleman had purchased Principal Keeper’s Cottage on 27th October 2017.
Unfortunately, the neighbour had encountered a historic problem where it appeared someone had knocked a rough hole behind a fitted cupboard/wardrobe door so that access could be obtained to the adjacent property’s bedroom via that cupboard/wardrobe. Thereby helping an earlier owner accommodate extra friends who visited.
^^ Wardrobe/Cupboard ^^
The photo above is from the Principal Keeper’s Cottage perspective. For decades, those doors were for a small cupboard or facility where coats and clothes were hung up.
When the entire lighthouse compound keys were handed over on the Entry Date, the cupboard turned out to have a crudely “knocked-through” hole into the adjacent Old Bothy/Keeper’s Cabin building behind clothes brackets!
The Northern Lighthouse Board specifically built TWO SEPARATE properties here. They WERE two semi-detached buildings for the majority of their lifespan.
When this crude walkway was discovered in the wardrobe/cupboard, it held a bizarre surprise…
^^ Narnia Type Hole/Entry ^^
From Principal Keeper’s Cottage…
A Narrow Interior Cupboard Hole To Next Door…
Keeper’s Cabin
Narnia came to mind…
^^ Is Requiring Planning Permission To Repair This ^^
^^ Sort of Thing Fair? ^^
^^ Narnia Type Hole/Entry ^^
A CHANGE IN THE LAW IS REQUIRED
The movie version makes the dissonance against fairness all the more apparent. If such “unusual” secret entrances are repaired by new owners up to and above BUILDING WARRANT/PLANNING PERMISSION rules, then surely there should be some form of discretion or exemption relating to such unjust and harsh infractions against those seeking to make good very rough holes in walls?
=> Especially when the Noss head lighthouse Buildings were left DERELICT in the 1990s and the current stress is causing a stroke survivor measurable harm with blood pressure raised to hypertensive crisis photographed at 203/111.
This might look like fun, but to those who, with innocent aims, make good such mischief, it is not so enjoyable…
^^ Real Life Narnia ^^
Bizarre because of who is in the photo albums, videos and cine films that are in the possession of Noss Lighthouse Station Ltd., director, Russ McLean’s personal safekeeping…
^^ A Selection of Many, Many Photos ^^
These photographic items and several albums plus boxes of cine films and DVDs are from items gifted to Russ McLean by the widow of a previous tenant.
Within the cache of the photos and videos were some jaw-dropping film of the previous owners “doing a bit of DIY” at various times during much earlier ownership. The pre 23/5/2017 owners were:-
Sir Malolm Sinclair, Earl of Caithness.
The Viscount Thurso.
The Duke of Rothesay.
The penultimate name is not a name that everyone may know about. It is the title that Prince Charles is addressed by, when he is in Scotland. Well, he was the Duke of Rothesay before the 8th September 2022. Then the Queen passed away and a lot of folk started the process of coming to terms with the fact the UK has a new Head of State: a new King.
The photo albums and video plus a cine film clearly show the Earl and Prince Charles as very good friends.
In fact the patron of one of the charity’s established by Russ McLean is Princess Anne and she is in cine film from approximately 65 years ago, playing with childhood friend, Sir Malcom Sinclair as youngsters.
This is mentioned as the artefacts would be fairly considered as “private family memories” and Russ is definitely not minded to place these private items into the public domain.
Declaration of interest. For the sake of good form and given the quasi-legal nature of this property conveyance, Russ McLean would place on record the fact that the Princess Royal is a Patron of a charity he founded in 2012…
Princess Anne has raised over one million pounds for this charity. Along with kindness, understanding and enthusiasm that has helped the charity trustees and growing volunteer base immensely.
So it would be the height of bad manners to deploy private photographs as a short-circuit to obtain, for example a Planning Permission Exemption (CLEUD) “letter of comfort” from Highland Council under the 4-year or 10-year rule.
The local planners at Highland Council advise you do NOT always need Planning Permission to join TWO separate houses together (even Narnia style).
But as with this case and what we are sure is an innocent error, you DO need Planning Permission to:
“Separate two houses that were originally built as two houses and temporarily joined together by a hole-in-the-wall”… in a way that formed one house for a relatively short period of time.
All of this was remedied between 5 and 12 years ago.
=> But as new laws for letting holiday property are coming into force ~ ironically to be given Royal assent by the managing director of what might euphemistically be titled “Crown Construction”…
^^ Do You Recognise This Gentleman? ^^
=> Keeper’s Cabin and Principal Keeper’s Cottage owners find themselves in a planning dilemma.
Should they seek a quicky “Certificate of Lawfulness” letter-of-comfort? This is NOT a permission. It just indicates that no enforcement action will be taken against those who originally infracted the law and/or those in possession of the buildings. Not the best solution, but effective.
Or…
Should they go for the full and proper:-
“RETROSPECTIVE PLANNING PERMISSION?”
Firstly, Russ McLean point-blank refuses to embarrass his charity patron and is definitely not willing to cause discomfort to her brother, the King when he was enjoying private family picnics and lighthouse painting times. Or at his grandmother’s house and with friends nearby at Noss Head Lighthouse Station…
^^ 23 Miles ~ 39 Minutes ^^
Castle of Mey To
Noss Head Lighthouse Station
Precious days where Prince Charles could have a few hours with friends of 60 years standing and enjoy something akin to a “normal life” before it was time to head back to London and the heavy burden of State duties.
So, the photo albums and cine films remain in safe custody. Private.
None of the photographs or cine film or home filmed DVDs will be used to short-circuit a “certificate of lawfulness”. Neither will affidavits be taken from members of the Royal Family nor their family friends.
^^ HRH Prince Charles: Happy At Noss Head ^^
For bona fides, here is one of the photographs Russ McLean is able to share from the private collection. It is of the Duke of Rothesay, Prince Charles on one of his many visits to Noss Head Lighthouse Station. On this occasion it was to open an access footbridge on the adjacent castle Sinclair Girnigoe.
As of 8th September 2022, the Prince of Wales ascended to the throne and became: His Majesty King Charles III. The weight of onerous duties would crush the shoulders of most mortals.
Little wonder King Charles cherished his private time with friends in a quiet part of the country where he was (and still is) able to relax.
William Shakespeare wrote about the responsibilities on the Monarch in his famous quote…
“Heavy lies the head that wears the crown.”
The last thing the directors at Noss Head Lighthouse Station Ltd., are going to do is to disturb these remote facilities or spoil the memories past, present and those to be made in the future
Besides, all of the renovations up at Noss Head Lighthouse Station have been to Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) standard. The former NLB buildings that are now privately owned, have had work undertaken by the actual Northern Lighthouse Board expert joiners, plumbers, electricians, roofers and painters etc. This happened because the main keeper’s house owned by this website’s subscribers enjoyed planning permission as a B&B and the Northern Lighthouse Board leased the private buildings to accommodate their staff whilst the tower (that is still retained/owned by the NLB) was overhauled and renovated.
NLB Tower Before Renovation
^^ Noss Head Lighthouse Tower ^^
“Before,” “During” & “After” Renovations Work.
^^ Very Subtle ^^
^^ Can You See The Difference ^^
^^ Between The Renovated Tower & ^^
The NON-Renovated Keepers’ Building on The Left
^^ Noss Head Lighthouse Tower ^^
& Private Owner Accommodation “After” Renovations Work.
Frequently, some of the NLB crew would stay at the site over weekends and deploy their encyclopaedic skills to the private buildings.
The end result was appreciated by the Northern Lighthouse Board as Noss Head is:-
=> One of the few sites where the NLB Tower buildings and the (now) privately owned former keepers’ houses have all been renovated at the same time.
The Northern Lighthouse Board Asked For
A Joint Photo To Celebrate
ALL Buildings Being Renovated Together
This matters because many lighthouse stations have a time difference between the NLB and the privately owned parts being renovated. The disappointing result is that at any given time, half of each lighthouse station looks fresh and ship-shape, whilst the other half looks shoddy and tired.
One of the consequences of having Northern lighthouse Board staff (many with 20 years’ service and experience/skillsets) was that the work on all buildings is completed with tender loving care and over-engineered items, such as several thousand pounds of RWA45 heat insulation deployed.
All of this means that the current (November 2022) owners: Noss Head Lighthouse Station Ltd., we will be arranging and paying for a proper…
“RETROSPECTIVE PLANNING PERMISSION”
Fortunately, the local architect has assisted the directors a lot and recognise the significance of purifying this planning hiccup expeditiously. So are making a fast-track application within the best of their abilities. The head of the architect firm will be inspecting both sides of the hole-in-the wall on 21-11-21 and at the same time deploying a remote video device to discuss the matter with Russ McLean (250 mile away) and Dr Makin a couple of yards away. The aim is to resolve this matter as soon as is practicable. There is an EXAMPLE of a retrospective planning application below and it is not a complex procedure when placed in the hands of a professional architect, The parties involved are hoping the architect side of this will be resolved in a few weeks.
Crucially, the other part of this Retrospective Planning Permission is the Highland Council processing side.
Even with the post-pandemic challenges, the Highland Council are managing to process these types of application very efficiently.
The typical application process from start to completion is 5 weeks and six days. This information has been extracted from EXISTING completed…
EXAMPLE
RETROSPECTIVE PLANNING APPLICATION
^^ Note 5 Weeks & 6 Days ^^
The paperwork is not that onerous either…
This is an EXAMPLE of an earlier Retrospective Planning Permission in the Highland Council jurisdiction and illustrates the 5 week and six day turnaround time…
^^ Example of Retrospective Planning Permission ^^
^^ Time Taken: 5 Weeks & 6 Days ^^
A welcome message from the neighbour to the owner…
Between 11-11-22 and 14-11-22 resolution is on its way. Our architect from Knight and McDonald will be onsite with Dr. Makin and video-linked to Russ McLean to expedite a Retrospective Planning Application at…
10.30am
on 21st November 2021
Once the architect prepares a fairly simple case and fills in two forms, it usually takes Highland council 5 weeks and 6 days to process the planning permission. So far, we have seen all previous “Retrospective Planning Applications” PASS the planning process.
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Background Information
Finally for this page, we include some additional items that may be of interest in relation to the “Retrospective Planning Application”.
1]. Previous plan drawings…
^^ Keeper’s Cabin ^^
Location of the infamous hole-in-the-wall.
^^ Principal Keeper’s Cottage ^^
Location of the infamous hole-in-the-wall.
On the Keeper’s cabin side, we have been able to unearth old photographs of the “hole-in-the-wall” being sealed up. With “fire-retardant “pink” insulation (double-skinned plasterboard.
^^ Keeper’s Cabin ^^
Location of the infamous hole-in-the-wall.
Old photograph evidencing the use of fire-retardant plasterboard.
On the Principal Keeper’s Cottage side a belts-and braces approach as applied with silver-backed plasterboard as this old photo illustrates…
^^ Principal Keeper’s Cottage ^^
Location of the infamous hole-in-the-wall.
Old photograph above evidences the layering of materials to reinstate the original specification of wall and fire-retardant, thermal protection and noise reducing materials.
The second skin and interstitial layers illustrate the Keeper’s Cabin final finish on the communal wall and Keeper’s Cabin ceiling with new RWA45 insulation…
^^ Keeper’s Cabin ^^
Double thickness communal wall between the two SEPARATE buildings,
^^ Keeper’s Cabin ^^
Double thickness communal wall between the two SEPARATE buildings,
^^ Keeper’s Cabin ^^
The insulation of Keeper’s cabin extended to the interior/exterior walls with interstitial venting to enhance ecological credentials. This was long before the spike in electricity bills. We are very pleased this work was completed.
^^ Keeper’s Cabin ^^
Noss Head Lighthouse Station
The current electricity bil reflect the fact that Keeper’s cabin is a very economic property and warms up quickly without causing too much worry on the bank balance.
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Keeper’s Cabin
Resale Value
This website is not an estate agency, but it’s directors have owned 24 lighthouse buildings across 4 lighthouse compounds over a 36 year period.
^^ Keeper’s Cabin: To The Right of Photo ^^
Noss Head Lighthouse Station
In addition, this website has helped dozens of lighthouses building owner friends to sell their own lighthouses.
=> So, we have a reasonable sized Knowledge-bank of the value of lighthouse buildings.
Currently, as of November 2022, the exchange-rate favours overseas buyers.
Last night, 15th November 2022, we had a gentleman from north America who, after a one-hour conversation, is getting on a plane next week and coming all the way to Scotland to make an inspection and likely a cash offer on the Lighthouse Engine House.
Last week, a potential buyer for Keeper’s Cabin wanted to offer more than the current buyer.
=> We politely explained that there is no “gazumping in Scotland.
Though technically any offer can be accepted and any rejected right up to the point of a CONCLUED MISSIVES.
For anyone doubting this, the best rejoinder we have are the shear volumes ~ the demand for lighthouse buildings that vastly outstrips supply.
The reuslt is the offer amounts increase. Substantially.
Here is an example of the numbers of folk interested in just one of the lighthouse buildings on this very page…
Also, lighthouse buildings are fairly unique as well as rare.
So there are frequent newspaper and
online news articles about them.
This one about Keeper’s Cabin was gratefully received.
The result?
14 viewings and three offers.
Keeper’s Cabin
Remote Viewing Video Film
^^^ Interior Video: Keeper’s Cabin ^^^
Noss Head Lighthouse Station
Escaping From Coviddy-Cities Is Affordable!
Offers Over £119,000. Details on Rightmove…
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Plot 15
Working title…
Sinclair Bay View
Here is a photograph taken from atop the actual lighthouse tower. To the right, it is possible to gain some perspective of what Plot 15 looks like in real life, as opposed to a map screenshot…
^^ Plot 15 To The Right ^^
Here are some photos of Sinclair Bay to give an idea of what Plot 15 overlooks. Though most of these are taken from the long beach towards Noss Head Lighthouse Station ad Plot 15……
^^ Sinclair Bay ^^
Looking Towards Noss Lighthouse Station & Directly At Plot 15
^^ Sinclair Bay ^^
Looking Westward Along The Coast
Towards Noss Lighthouse Station & Directly At Plot 15
^^ Sinclair Bay ^^
This Photo Has Plot 15 To The Left
& Sinclair Girnigoe Castle To The Centre.
^^ Sinclair Bay ^^
The Far North In Summer Is Still Light At 10pm At Night.
^^ On The Way To Plot 15 ^^
The Private Road Passes Lochmor.
^^ On The Way To Plot 15 ^^
Another 11pm Picture In The Long Daylight Days of Summer
^^ On The Way To Plot 15 ^^
In The Winter, Noss Head Has Spectacular Views of
The Aurora Borealis.
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Last For This Page
Credentials Relating To The Charity
Earlier in this narrative, there has been significant mention of the King and princess Anne. It is important to the subscribers that this the photographs and cine film plus DVDs are verified and that the Royal Patronage of one of our charities verified.
To that ends and in order to illustrate the veracity of earlier statements, here is Princess Anne raising funds for our TS Queen Mary charity…
.
Two of our directors have been involved in the Friends of TS Queen Mary Charity since our Scotslion Managing Director, Russ McLean (here) had the honour of writing and submitting the Friend of TS Queen Mary charity constitution and handing it to the Charity Commissioner for Scotland in Dundee (OSCR).
^^ TS Queen Mary ^^
Looking far better than the sad state
the ship was in when it left a
berth next to the scrapyard.
But the big question, the rarest of folk who might say yes was invited aboard. Would Her Royal Highness Princess Anne accept an invitation to become the charity’s new Royal Patron?
^^ HRH Anne, The Princess Royal ^^
With Trustee, Mr Iain Sim.
It was an incredibly memorable day when news came in that the Princes Royal had said yes to our humble invitation.
For folk who are unfamiliar with registered charities, the good that they can do is often hampered by the ability or inability to raise funds.
^^ TS Queen Mary In Drydock ^^
Even with generous discounts
kindly given by the shipyard, this still
costs a fair amount of fundraising.
Well worth it though when you see the result…
^^ TS Queen Mary In Drydock ^^
Looking Like She Should: TLC By The Ton
The progress of this charity’s restoration of TS Queen Mary requires a great deal of fundraising. The goodwill gifted from our Patron, Mr Robbie Coltrane and our new Royal Patron the Princess Royal have had a such a profoundly positive effect upon the charity’s financial health, that on 11th March 2022, Princess Anne was able to announce a major event.
The TS Queen Mary will be brought back, beyond just a museum grade static exhibit.
This historic ship will be re-engined and renovated to the point where the ship will sail again.
Moving from a static exhibit, modestly restored to a fully seaworthy and operational passenger pleasure ship from 1933 vintage is a significant improvement upon our original goal of saving the ship from being scrapped.