Ex-owner says sorry to Knoydart

there for selling ''Scotland's last wilderness'' to a company which

plans to establish an adventure training centre for deprived young

people. He fears it will come to resemble an open prison.

In March, Mr Rhodes, who had sold off different parcels of the once

80,000-acre estate to various parties over the years of his stewardship,

sold his remaining 16,500 acres for just under #2m to the India-based

jute company Titaghur. Its chairman, Mr Reg Brealey, a former chairman

of Sheffield United Football Club, was the first Briton to face charges

of insider dealing but was acquitted when the case against him collapsed

in 1991.

At the time of the sale, The Herald reported that Mr Brealey already

had approached Highland Regional Council over his plans to set up a

training centre. This would accommodate socially disadvantaged young

people for three months of a 12-month course which subsequently would

take them to Mr Brealey's properties in the Far East.

Titaghur's subsidiary, Knoydart Peninsula Ltd, has now lodged a

planning application with Lochaber divisional planning department to

allow work to begin on the centre. In response, Mr Rhodes wrote to the

local community association and his letter was published locally.

He wrote: ''It was with great regret that I was forced to sell

Knoydart estate. It was a place I loved, felt responsible for and was

proud of its improving face. This was helped by the new lives and

interests of those who came to live there, together with the support I

received from the majority of people already living there.

''To see Knoydart become, in effect, an open prison for young

offenders is in no way a benefit to those offenders or the community,

many of whom I sold land and houses to. The Back to Basics Course,

however well-intentioned, could be a sad end to the tranquillity and

security of the area. To the people of Knoydart I would like to

apologise for, even under the circumstances regarding the sale, I feel

that I have let them down.''

Mr Rhodes's letter says that an attempt to purchase the estate as a

sporting club had been viable, but sadly not pursued with enough vigour

or intent. There had been another group whose sole concern had been to

secure the future well-being of the area and the community, but he had

been advised that legally this interest was too late. That, however,

would have been the best option and Mr Rhodes would still try and help

this group.

Mr Archie Gibson, regional controller of the Back to Basics Course in

Knoydart, last night reacted angrily to Mr Rhodes's letter. ''I find it

quite bizarre that a man who bought the estate for #1.2m, and then

proceeded to make #2m by breaking it up, before Titaghur came along and

paid him more, plus taking on all the liabilities, has the nerve to talk

in this way. If anyone has destroyed Knoydart, he has.

''A lot of people are knocking what we are trying to do here. The

first thing is that Back to Basics will never be an alternative to

custodial sentence. That is not what we are about at all. We want to

help those people who have been disadvantaged through no fault of their

own, the really needy. We will ask applicants if they have criminal

records but there is now way we can be 100% sure they are telling the

truth.

''I have spoken to all the Highlanders, all the Scots who live here

and all but one are behind us. They see us as injecting new blood into

the area. Initially, we are talking about 24 boys, until we have proved

the thing can work.''

Lochaber planning office yesterday confirmed that a planning

application had been received but it was thought unlikely that it would

be considered before October. Meanwhile, Knoydart Community Association

intends to meet soon to discuss the proposals.