Billionaires blocked from snapping up £4.2m Scottish island in order to give locals chance to buy

Ulva on sale as owner can no longer afford to run 5,000 acres

Views of the Isle of Ulva, off Scotland's west coast (Getty Images)

Billionaires have been blocked from snapping up a privately-owned Scottish island in order to give locals a chance to buy it.

Ulva, a secluded Hebridean island with a population of six, was put up for sale by its owner after he said he could no longer afford to run the 5,000 acres.

But the Scottish government blocked the sale to wealthy buyers in order to give a community group the opportunity to raise the £4.2m asking price.

Now the buyout has taken a major step forward after locals on the neighbouring island of Mull voted in favour of the proposals.

The North West Mull Community Woodland Company (NWMCWC) has eight months to raise the funds. It has so far raised £21,000 through a crowdfunding appeal.

Jamie Howard, who inherited the island from his mother in 2014, put it on the market in the summer.

But independent assessors put the value of the land and properties slightly below the £4.5m he wanted.

The 60-year-old has accused the Scottish government of acting “shamefully” over the issue.

“When I put the island up for sale, I was looking for a buyer who would have Ulva’s interests at heart and have the funds to run it,” he told The Times.

The NWMCWC said it hopes to access the Scottish Land Fund - which offers grants to help communities take ownership of land - to raise a further £1m.

But Mr Howard said it would take another £4m in order to run the island. “I don’t see how they can find the funds to run it properly,” he said.

“I don’t know where I will move to, at the moment I will be homeless.”

In total, 401 residents of Mull within the membership area of the NWMCWC were eligible to vote in the postal ballot.

By the deadline on 8 January, 255 people had voted, with 64 per cent backing the buyout.

The community group put in its ownership bid under the Land Reform (Scotland) 2003 Act - an SNP law which allows rural communities first right of refusal on land for sale.

Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for Land Reform, will now decide whether to trigger the community group’s right to buy.

NWMCWC has been contacted for comment.