Jimmy Savile’s former Scottish Highlands cottage, which he owned for 13 years before his death in 2011, has been demolished.
The former DJ and BBC broadcaster was 84 years old at the time of his death and was one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders after reports of his abuse surfaced in 2012.
From 1998, the Leeds-born TV presenter owned the property on the A82, named Allt-na-Reigh, in Glen Coe. Since his death, it had been damaged in a fire and repeatedly vandalised.
Demolition work, which included bulldozing the cottage to the ground, initially started last year in March, but ground to a halt due to a missing building warrant and other necessary approvals that needed to be issued by the Highland Council.
Once the cottage has been completely destroyed, a new home will be built on the site, and a spokesperson for the owner, Scottish entrepreneur Harris Aslam, revealed earlier this month: “We are grateful to Highland Council for their swift support in approving a demolition warrant for Allt-na-Reigh, and for their continued assistance as the project progresses.”
According to the BBC, the statement continued: “The site has been fully secured, and we respectfully ask members of the public to refrain from accessing the area while demolition and subsequent construction works are ongoing in the interest of safety.”
The Highland Council confirmed the paperwork was approved last month, and the Aslam family’s spokesperson highlighted their understanding of the property’s “significance” for its Three Sisters mountains backdrop and association with Scottish climber and inventor Dr Hamish MacInnes.
A new legacy for the site
Official demolition plans for the cottage were approved unanimously by councillors in June 2024, and it was decided that a new history would begin for the site, which would honour the native adventurer, a previous owner of the cottage.
Dr Hamish died in 2020 and invented a form of ice axe and a stretcher used by global mountain rescue teams.
Calling for the demolition for the last 12 years, Councillor Andrew Baxter told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast: “It was a complete blight on the entry way into the beautiful Glen Coe scenic area.
“It was falling down, it had been a target for vandalism, and virtually every square inch of it was covered in graffiti. It was really an absolute eyesore and an embarrassment for people who lived locally.”