Moyness Kirk, near Aldearn, Morayshire, £85,000 o/o
What it is: A former United Presbyterian church built in 1748 that once accommodated 300 worshippers. Built from stone, under a slate roof, there is an adjoining vestry. It is being marketed as an ideal shell for conversion to an open-plan family home. The building is in a hollow, surrounded by woodland and fields.
A single-track road connects the building to the A96 — the road between Inverness and Aberdeen. Inverness airport is about 15 miles away. The building is currently used as a grain store, and outline planning permission is in place for conversion to a single dwelling. It is surrounded by a sizeable garden. Attractive arched windows on the southern wall have been retained, and there are remains of religious murals on the upper walls.
The problems: The building’s long service as a grain store has done it few favours. The roof is in need of some attention — and a roof of this kind could cost a lot of money to repair. Even more alarmingly, Tom Chetwynd, the surveyor handling the sale, says: “There may be surveying or engineering issues, though it does not have a steeple or lead roof.”
Advertisement
The advantages: A building with outline planning permission allows the new owner to commission a design that suits them. There will still be planning hoops through which to jump, and this will probably take a few months, but you are not gambling on a property for which permission might not be granted. The church is not listed, so there is no need to obtain listed building consent.
It was de-consecrated in the distant past and there is no graveyard. There is also much to be said for the area. Forres is a 10-minute drive away, there is a primary school in the village, a secondary school in Forres and a good selection of independent schools nearby.
Advertisement
Bowlts, 01343 890 400