'It is literally a ghost town': Locals fear
Scottish village is becoming a 'playground' for American billionaires
Kenmore sits on the banks of the River Tay and is home
to around 100 residents. Arizona-based Investors Discovery Land Company has
snapped up a lot of real estate in the region, which is causing concerns among
the locals the area is becoming "hoarded by the elite".
Connor
Gillies
Scotland
correspondent @ConnorGillies
Saturday 22
July 2023 15:54, UK
There are
fears a peaceful Perthshire village is becoming a "ghost town" for
locals who claim American billionaires are taking over to create a
"playground" for the super-rich.
Kenmore
sits on the banks of the stunning River Tay and is home to about 100 residents.
Neighbouring
Taymouth Castle, built in 1842, and its vast swaths of land have been bought up
by an Arizona-based business which boasts of transforming the area into a plush
resort for the mega-wealthy.
Investors
Discovery Land Company (DLC) - which claims to be one of the most exclusive
residential real estate development companies in the world - has also snapped
up and subsequently closed the local hotel and post office.
The foreign
business empire has also bought several homes as concerns mount that the area
is becoming "hoarded by the elite".
It has been
reported DLC's clients include billionaires, CEOs, presidents and celebrities.
A recent
sales brochure from the US firm suggested the plans would include "a
community including 208 residential units and club suites" and is only
"30 minutes by helicopter" to Scotland's major cities.
The castle
restoration project was given planning permission by Perth and Kinross Council
in 2011.
Locals
suggest their surroundings are being strangled and have mounted a petition to
"fight back".
Campaigner
Rob Jamieson told Sky News: "In their other developments their homes range
from £3m to £50m. They are going to try and close this all off. They don't want
the great unwashed walking past their high-end homes.
"None
of us will ever set foot in it unless we want to tug a forelock. It is
everything that a rich person could ever want but they never have to leave the
confines of that estate. They are not going to be going out for tea and scones
to the local tearoom.
"It is
abhorrence to those of us who live around here."
Kenmore.
DLC
rejected numerous Sky News interview requests but insisted all regulations were
being followed, including Scottish legislation giving the public the right to
roam on paths surrounding the historic castle.
A
spokeswoman did not deny suggestions the area will become a gated community.
The company
website states the golf course and amenities will be "reserved" for
the owners.
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