New home potential for 60ft-high 'haunted' lighthouse

Published by Ross Macmillan for 24dash.com in Housing

A redundant lighthouse with a spooky past in Flintshire, Wales could be turned into living quarters, according to the estate agency marketing the property.

Strutt and Parker says the Point of Ayr Lighthouse - on the northernmost point of mainland Wales on Talacre Beach - has the potential to be converted for residential use, subject to the grant of appropriate planning permission.

The grade II-listed property, which is accessible on foot at low tide, is currently made up of several empty floors with stairs leading to the top.

The lighthouse, for sale for £100,000, is known for being haunted with scores of people claiming to have seen an old lighthouse keeper, in coat and cap, standing on its gallery walkway. 

However, its current owner James McAllister - who bought the property for some £25,000 at auction back in 1983 - told the Sunday Times it wouldn't be straightforward to turn the lighthouse into a new home.

He said: "There are no mains services and you have absolutely no chance of getting them installed. You would have to install a generator in the cellar for electricity, arrange deliveries of water and use chemical toilets."

Mr McAllister spent some £30,000 restoring the old lighthouse, installing a new staircase, floors inside and strengthening its foundations with 20 tons of concrete. He also commissioned the creation of a 7ft tall lighthouse keeper figure fixed to the balcony, a result of a joint project with Flintshire County Council.

McAllister told the paper that the property, which comes with two acres of beach, would be more suited as a film location, study centre or a venue for management adventure courses.