CARBISDALE Castle youth hostel, which closed three years ago due to structural damage, has been put up for sale.

The move by the Scottish Youth Hostel Association (SYHA) has angered the local community which had hoped the castle, located near Invershin, could reopen.

Creich Community Council vice-chairman Sandy Chalmers claims SYHA did not make enough effort to pursue available sources of funding for repair work. He said: “We’re outraged at being presented with what we think is a fait accompli.”

The council, which discussed the issue at its meeting on Tuesday, will now contact constituency MP John Thurso and MSP Rob Gibson. A protest letter is to be sent to the SYHA’s board of trustees in time for its annual meeting later this month.

The announcement that the castle had been put up for sale “with regret” was made by SYHA chief executive Keith Legge earlier this week. He said 20 valuable statues belonging to the castle were in secure storage.

The Category B listed building, built between 1906 and 1916, did not open for the 2011 season after water ingress the previous winter caused major structural damage. Its closure was a huge blow to the Kyle of Sutherland area.

The 150-bed castle attracted around 20,000 guests each year with an average 62 per cent occupancy over the 32-week season. At the height of the summer season the castle, considered by SYHA to be its “jewel in the crown”, employed 18 full-time staff.

Mr Chalmers claimed the water ingress which led to the closure was a result of poor maintenance and not frozen pipes, as had previously been stated. He said: “Debris which built up on a flat roof and guttering caused massive water ingress.”

He added the community council had evidence that Historic Scotland had been prepared to make a Historic Building repair grant to SYHA, but that the organisation failed to apply for it. And he maintained that SYHA could have attempted to de-list the building in order to make repair work cheaper, but did not.

Mr Chalmers alleges the castle had been “asset stripped” with beds dumped in landfill and furniture taken away.SYHA has issued a strong rebuttal of his claims.

A spokesman said the water ingress which caused the damage was as a result of the severe winter of 2010 which saw a build-up of snow and ice on roofs. When milder weather set in, meltwater penetrated the building.

She said SYHA had pursued a wide range of funding possibilities but that “regrettably, the combination of the substantial amount required and qualifying criteria of funding sources meant the required sum could not be raised.”

The spokesman said beds and equipment from Carbisdale had been recycled elsewhere in the hostelling network and the kitchen had been stripped to allow repair work to proceed.

She said there was “no truth” in the allegation that SYHA had made no attempt to change the Class B listing.

In his statement, SYHA boss Keith Legge said £2 million had been poured into Carbisdale over the past three years but additional funding to complete the refurbishment could not be found.

Mr Legge said the castle had not generated enough surplus income to allow for reinvestment.

He continued: “The recent partial refurbishment and ongoing running costs already incurred, coupled with the extensive funds necessary to complete the refurbishment of the castle, makes it financially unsustainable to operate the property as a youth hostel in the long term. As a not-for-profit and self funding charitable organisation, SYHA has a duty to make best use of scarce resources.”

A spokesman for Historic Scotland said Carbisdale Castle would be eligible for a building repair grant but no application for funding had been received.

The spokesman said the castle’s listing was reviewed in April 2013 when it was decided it should remain as category B.