Tiny houses: Remote Scottish coastguard station on the market
It’s been empty since October 2017 but will be auctioned this week, with a £30,000 guide price.
The detatched, single-storey Room with a View, at Gamrie Brae, Banff, overlooks the Moray Firth and still has the Marine and Coastguard Agency sign above its blue rolling door.
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Hide AdVolunteers moved out of the Gardenstown base when the rescue team merged with Banff
The 341sq ft (32sq metres) structure sits on Gamrie Brae and looks out across the village and its picturesque bay.
Title deeds show it has been owned by the Marine and Coastguard Agency and its forerunners since the 1900s.
Now the station could be handed a new lease of life when it goes up for auction in England.
Documents sent out to prospective buyers detail the 0.16 acre site, which features storage space and a toilet – and has “possible potential for a variety of alternative uses”.
Photographs show the empty white building as well as its small concrete driveway and the grass surrounding it.
The coastal landmark, being marketed by Allsop, will go under the hammer at an auction at the Intercontinental Hotel on Park Lane in London on Thursday May 30.
Ross Greenhill, Coastguard area commander for Aberdeen, said the service vacated the premises after it was deemed not to be fit for their needs.
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Hide AdHe said the move came about after the team ran into difficulties attracting new recruits from Gardenstown to sign up.
Mr Greenhill said: “HM Coastguard moved out of the building in October 2017.
“The Gardenstown Coastguard rescue team was merged with the team at nearby Banff due to difficulties in recruiting new members and the building no longer being suitable for use as a modern station.”
The potential sale of the base comes as the Coastguard doubles the number of rescue volunteers in Banff from eight to 16. The crew will also be soon moving out of their base in Banff once a new larger site has been built in nearby Macduff.