Future of Jimmy Savile's derelict Highland cottage to be decided by locals

It has been repeatedly vandalised with slogans over the years since his death.

The depraved paedophile is believed to have abused up to 20 people inside his remote lair nestled in the Highlands.

The cottage sits beside the A82 Fort William to Glasgow road.

Following Savile’s death in 2011, the two-bedroom bungalow was put up for auction.

Paedophile Jimmy Savile

It was purchased for £212,000 with the buyer intending to live there. However work to renovate it is yet to begin.

It has since been bought by the family of retail tycoon Harris Aslam, who wants to canvas local opinion on its future.

Mr Aslam, who is in his 20s, is director of Fife-based Scottish convenience store operator Eros Retail, which is part of the family's Glenshire group of companies.

Together with his cousin and business partner Raza Rehman - and other family members - they have bought the property from an Edinburgh builder for a reported £335,000.

He said they wanted to turn it into a family home with its "beautiful location".

It was also once home to the late mountaineering legend Hamish McInnes, who formed the Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team and was responsible for pioneering the wider mountain rescue movement in Scotland.

Inside Jimmy Savile's cottage

Some locals have previously raised concerns that motorists slowing down to read the anti-Savile writing could become distracted and involved in an accident.

"I am aware of its history but think something positive can be done with it,’ Mr Aslam told the Lochaber Times.

"We’re looking at various options at the moment that could possibly involve some kind of permanent tribute to Hamish MacInnes, which would be fantastic.

"It is such an amazing location but we also want to know what local people think. Over the years it’s been subjected to a lot of vandalism and people are always breaking in.

"We’d like to do something the community could support so that everyone can be collectively proud of the end result."

To find out what locals and others think, Mr Aslam is proposing to host an online public consultation on Tuesday (September 7).

"I don’t think you can always please everyone," he added. "But I think we can do something many people would hopefully be on board with."

On the links with MacInnes, Mr Aslam said it was believed the famous mountaineer had invented his revolutionary MacInnes stretcher and ice axe in the outbuilding at the property.

Grafitti on the walls of Savile's cottage

"It really appeals to me to provide some kind of tribute or memorial to Hamish MacInnes. We’re not sure of what that might actually look like or what form it would take, but it’s something I’d love to do," he said.

"Yes the property does have a dark history - but only for a certain period. I think we can do something really positive with it and I’d like to hear what people think."

Tuesday’s online public consultation starts at 6pm and any members of the community or organisations keen to attend should email Kim@glenshire. co.uk for an invite.

Some have argued that the property should have been demolished, while others said it should remain because of its historical significance.

Over the years, the cottage had several slogans daubed on its walls – which had been whitewashed years earlier in an effort to deter vandals.

The word “paedo” was daubed on the side of the hillside house. Among previous slogans was scrawled "Jimmy the beast".

Savile first saw the cottage on a cycling holiday in 1944.

The disgraced DJ once entertained Prince Charles over dinner at the cottage and it was featured in notorious Louis Theroux documentary When Louis Met Jimmy.

He became a regular in Glencoe village, with residents saying he was an 'attention seeker' who would wander around in a Highland kilt waving at passing tourists.

One man from the area described how he had asked for the DJ's autograph and instead got a bizarre message from him that read 'lost girls' should visit him.