The historic Drake‘s Island is on sale for £6million – with planning permission granted to transform it into a luxury Caribbean-style resort.
The six-acre former fortress has been used as a religious centre, a prison during the reign of Charles II and, most recently, as an adventure training facility which closed its doors almost 30 years ago.
But the island’s owner, Dan McCauley, who purchased the land for £384,000 in 1995, has now put it up for sale for a guide price of £6million.
An artist’s impression of the £10million Caribbean-style resort in development at the historic Drake’s Island on the Plymouth Sound
The hotel, which will be made of a composite of pre-existing Grade II listed buildings and two new structures, will also contain a spa
Drake’s Island, named after Sir Francis Drake, who set sail in 1577 to circumnavigate the globe, has been described as ‘the jewel in the crown of Plymouth,’ the Sunday Times reported.
Mr McCauley’s son, Aidan, said: ‘We want to see the place come back to life. It has to come back to life.’
His plea for rejuvenation of the island, which is just 600 yards from the mainland in the Plymouth Sound, may have already been answered.
There is planning permission for the island to be developed into a luxury hotel and spa, complete with conference facilities and an upmarket restaurant.
Planning permission for the extensive project was first put forward by Rotolok Holdings Limited two decades ago – and was granted last April
Planning permission, put forward by Mr McCauley’s company Rotolok Holdings Limited, was granted last year to transform the Island’s Grade II-listed Island House, Barracks Block and Ablutions building.
The company’s vision is for a Caribbean-style resort, similar to its successful Sugar Ridge Resort in the paradise island of Antigua, the Plymouth Herald reported.
Rotolok is now able to begin work on the ambitious redevelopment after a maritime license was granted last month to repair the aging jetty.
Sean Swales, managing director, said: ‘We started the jetty repair application process back in 2017 and so I’m delighted we can finally start work to get safe access to the island.
‘This will enable us to get the various experts and consultants onto the island to take the project forward.’
The main island accommodation will be formed by linking together the Grade II-listed Island House, Barracks Block and Ablutions buildings, with a total of 25 double and twin bedrooms inside.
A new contemporary structure would host a bar, reception, and restaurant – and a second new build would house a spa.
Drake’s Island has been used as a religious centre, a prison during the reign of Charles II and, most recently, as an adventure training facility
The Island’s battery is expected to become 18 suites with stunning views of the Plymouth Sound.
Developers also plan to transform the Governor’s House into a cafe by the Mayflower 400 celebrations in 2020.
But due to the complexities of the development, and the fact the island currently has no electricity, an end date has not yet been proposed.
Plans for the ambitious project were initially put forward to councillors two decades ago.
Rotolok was finally granted permission in April last year after Natural England and the RSPB both dropped their objections after hearing how a colony of roosting egrets, which had held up the project for years, would be given a new home at Mount Edgcumbe.
A favourite of Queen Elizabeth I who became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe
Sir Francis Drake was an English admiral who circumnavigated the globe – and is recognised as the most renowned seaman of the Elizabethan Age.
Drake joined one of the first English slaving voyages as part of a fleet led by his cousin John Hawkins in 1567, bringing African slaves to work in the ‘New World’.
All but two ships of the expedition were lost when the fleet was attacked by the Spanish – who thus became a lifelong enemy for Drake.
Sir Francis Drake was an English sailor who circumnavigated the globe between 1577 and 1580
In 1572, the seaman commanded two vessels in a marauding expedition against Spanish ports in the Caribbean. He captured the port of Nombre de Dios on the Isthmus of Panama, and returned to England with a cargo of Spanish treasure.
Following the success of the raid, Drake was secretly commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I to set off from what is now known as Drake’s Island on an expedition against the Spanish colonies in 1577.
Drake reached the Pacific Ocean in October 1578 with only one of his five boats, the Pelican, remaining. He was the first Englishman to navigate the Straits of Magellan.
The seaman used plans created by Sir Richard Grenville, an English sailor who died at the Battle of Flores in 1591, in his expedition.
He travelled up the length of the South American coast, plundering Spanish ports, and hoping to find a route to the Atlantic Ocean.
Drake navigated further up the west coast of America than any European before him, landing on the coast of California in June 1579.
He then turned south in July 1579 and beginning a voyage across the Pacific with his lone ship, now renamed the Golden Hind.
A few months later, he reached Moluccas, a group of islands in the western Pacific, in eastern modern-day Indonesia.
On 26 September, the Golden Hind sailed back into Plymouth with Drake and his 59 remaining crew aboard, along with a rich cargo of spices and captured Spanish treasures.
The sailor was hailed as the first Englishman to circumnavigate the Earth, and he was knighted aboard his ship in April 1581.
Source: BBC
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