Village church project could take three years
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A PLAN to turn a derelict church in Castletown into a home could take three years to complete, according to the couple behind the project.
Angus Cowap and Dr Heather Davis purchased the 19th-century church near the village primary school from Highland Council two years ago and have been tidying up the site and carrying out a lot of other work since then.
However, they have now obtained a building warrant from the council and are about to embark on the next phase of the development.
Mr Cowap is pleased the warrant has been granted and said: "We hope to go ahead and start the work now. Our priorities this year are the roof, the windows, pointing work and internal insulation."
Asked when the project is likely to be completed, he replied: "Hopefully within the three-year timescale, but we are not really sure. It is hard to say."
He added: "We are very much enjoying the process, even though it is really slow and now with Covid-19 looks like being even slower.
"We love the building and surroundings. We remain positive and look forward to having a lovely place to live in due course."
The couple, who moved to the village four years ago, plan to undertake a major refurbishment of the building which lay empty for a number of years before they bought it.
Mr Cowap and Dr Davis came north when she joined a medical practice in Thurso.
They have spent some time clearing trees that were in danger of undermining the structure and have been shifting rubbish, including rusty old cars and vehicle parts, from around the site.
The church is believed to date back to 1840 and was used by the RAF as a mess hall in World War II. It was later the site for residential caravans.
