Multi-millionaire accused of endangering remote Scottish isle’s fragile water supply

Villagers on a remote Scottish isle have accused an Australian multi-millionaire of endangering their fragile water supply by building a hostel for employees at his 12,000-acre estate.

The Isle of Jura’s population is set to increase by a fifth after Greg Coffey, a hedge-fund manager dubbed the Wizard of Oz by his financial peers, was given the green light to build an “essential” 40-bed hostel for staff near his luxury hotel and golf course.

Mr Coffey bought Ardfin Estate for more than £1.2 million in 2010. He has since spent an estimated £50 million transforming Jura House into a five-star resort and constructing an 18-hole golf course.

However, islanders fear the new influx will bring Jura’s infrastructure to its knees, claiming their water, sewerage, ferries and health care services are already “stretched beyond capacity”.

More than two-dozen villagers have objected to the plans submitted by Ardfin Estate to Argyll and Bute Council that would bring 40 new residents to Craighouse, the isle’s only village.

The site is four miles away from the estate on Jura’s single-track road.

One islander, who chose to remain anonymous, said: “Our broadband is poor, we have limited mains water supply, and other council services are overstretched.

“Our out-of-hours medical service is precarious and policing on the island is occasional at best.”

Architects from GCA Design, on behalf of the estate, claim that staff have been forced to live in temporary pods on the estate itself, arguing that this is “neither a long or medium-term sustainable option”.

In a design statement, architects said there was no other alternative than Craighouse and that staff deserve to be somewhere “separate and distinct from their working environment”.

Completion date set for April

On Tuesday, councillors gave the go-ahead for work to begin on the planned hostel in Craighouse, with the completion date set for next April.

The site would also share access with 10 new affordable houses on Otter Brae, just completed by West Highland Housing Association.

The decision has prompted a backlash from Jura Community Council, which warned the “scale of the development” would overburden the isle’s roads, ferries and shops, which are already “stretched beyond capacity”.

Another islander told the Oban Times, a local paper, that “population levels on Jura may already be at a maximum".

“Our single-track roads are currently in poor condition and increasing traffic on these will not only cause more maintenance issues, but there are also health and safety concerns.

“The council is already aware of our busy and not fit for purpose ferry, which continues to break down - causing many issues for residents, business and visitors.”

Ardfin Estate and GCA Design have been approached for comment.

With such a small population and unreachable from the mainland by vehicle, it is little surprise Jura proved the perfect setting for George Orwell when searching for a remote retreat to write his final work, Nineteen Eight-Four.

Describing it as an “extremely un-get-atable place”, Orwell lived on the island intermittently from 1946 until Jan 1949.

Doctors had hoped the bracing winds and unpolluted environment would help Orwell recover from previous bouts of tuberculosis.

However, Orwell died from the disease seven months after finishing the work.

The isle has also proven to be a popular holiday retreat for David Cameron, the former prime minister, who chose “a case of malt whisky from Jura” as his luxury item on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.