'Eyesore' Carmarthenshire Tudor house to be restored

Stephen Kirkwood says it will cost £3-4m to restore Island House in Laugharne

A campaigner has said she "can't stop smiling" after a historical building in Carmarthenshire was saved for restoration.

Island House in Laugharne dates from Tudor times and has been on an at-risk register since 2011.

The building was in danger of collapse and locals formed an action group to put pressure on the former owner and the local authority to save it.

And now a buyer has said he was excited to take on the "huge task".

The Grade-II* listed building's new owner, Stephen Kirkwood, is a property developer who has lived in the area for many years.

"It was something my brother Phil and I thought we could take on and make into a property that was worth having here.

"Laugharne is very important to us and we'd like to see this restored. We know it's a huge task but we're looking forward to it."

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He said the area needed a property like Island House.

"We've got a magnificent castle just behind us, and this was a ruin in front of it. I've driven past this house every day for 40 years, so why not do it?"

Mr Kirkwood said it would cost between £3m and £4m to restore it.

The plan is to turn it into a boutique hotel with a restaurant and cafe.

Inside the house, a wooden staircase and many original fireplaces still remain

Some of the most dramatic changes so far have taken place outside the house in the grounds where huge amounts of overgrowth have been cleared.

Those working on it have even found a long-forgotten summer house.

Extensive archaeological surveys are also being carried out in the hope the house and its grounds will reveal further secrets.

Historical documents describe how part of the house was destroyed "by accident" by Oliver Cromwell's soldiers during the English Civil War, when it was hit by cannon balls fired on the castle nearby.

Island House has been described as a building of national significance; it was given a Grade-II* designation by historical environment service, Cadw.

It has been empty for 15 years and local people were beginning to think it would never be occupied.

Denize McIntyre, of the Save Island House Campaign, said the building might not have lasted another year

Denize McIntyre, who headed the Save Island House Campaign, said the group knew the building had a "death sentence".

"It was unlikely to withstand another 12 months, certainly not much longer, and people really got behind that," she said.

"We first came in on a wet, soggy day - it was raining indoors.

"We were squelching through years of fallen rotten debris and now, every time I come in, I can't stop smiling when you see the progress being made. It's just amazing.

"This house couldn't be more central to Laugharne and yet it was here like an eyesore.

"So to see it restored will be a proper boost, a shot in the arm for the whole community. We can take pride in this building."

A new website has been created to chart the restoration progress, with before and after photos posted regularly.

The team estimates it will take two years to complete.