A west Highland hotelier whose house was destroyed by fire has applied for planning permission to build three new properties on the site.
Despite the heroic efforts made by local firefighters, they were unable to save the Ferguson family’s large holiday house at Kilchoan on the end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula when it caught fire in January of last year.
Helen Ferguson, who runs Sonachan Hotel – the most westerly hotel on the British mainland – and her two daughters had moved out of the house and into the hotel shortly before the fire.
The house was empty at the time and no one was injured in the blaze.
However, many of their belongings were still in the property and they lost personal mementos, family heirlooms and instruments.
And she has now submitted an application to Highland Council for permission to demolish the charred frame that is all that was left of her former home.
The site at Bealach Ruadh, which lies alongside the B8007 public road, would then be divided into three plots and she is seeking permission to build a new detached property on each of them.
Soon after the incident, Mrs Ferguson, whose grandfather built the Sonachan Hotel, where she has worked since she was 15, said she was “devastated” when she realised the extent of the blaze.
The fire was reported at around 9pm on Wednesday January 2, 2013, and raged for most of the night, with retained firefighters from Kilchoan, Acharacle and Strontian fighting the flames until 4.30pm the next day.
At the height of the fire, around 17 firefighters, were battling the blaze. Many residents also volunteered to help and stayed at the scene throughout the night.
After the fire, Mrs Ferguson paid tribute to the crews for their local knowledge and hard work in fighting the fire.
She also thanked the local community for the support shown to her family.
At that time, she said they were planning to rebuild the house.
She could not be contacted for comment today.