Grand Manan's village council has decided not to sell the property surrounding the island's famous Swallowtail Lighthouse.

Council met on Monday night to re-examine the future of the lightkeeper's house and surrounding land after community protest following the announcement that it would be sold.

The lighthouse, considered one of the most photographed in the Maritimes, sits on a spit of land on the north head of Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy.

The lighthouse was built in 1858, but following its automation in 1986, the lightkeeper's house, which is owned by the village, was turned into a bed and breakfast.

The repairs to the keeper's building and surrounding property have cost the village more than $80,000 over recent years and the area continues to be vandalized, Mayor Dennis Greene told CBC News.

Greene said there simply wasn't anymore money in the council's budget for its upkeep and announced in March the village had been seeking requests for proposals on the future of the keeper's house, and it had been approached by a potential buyer from South Carolina.

Almost 250 people in the community signed a petition urging the council to preserve the keeper's house, and more than 100 people from the community met last Thursday to discuss ways to protect the area.

It spurred the council to re-examine the issue at the council meeting, where it unanimously agreed to reopen the issue and not sell the property.

Listened to the people

"I'm a firm believer that you listen to the people when they have spoken. So again, other council members felt the same way," Greene said.

Had people in the community known there wasn't enough money in the budget to maintain the property they probably would have stepped in years ago, said Theresa McFarland, who led the campaign to save the keeper's house.

"Maybe we, as islanders, should have gone to the village two years ago and said, 'What's going on?' and offer to help them," McFarland said. "But we didn't think about it, I guess, until they actually said they're going to sell it."

Council will be meeting with community members in June to discuss what to do with the house and land.

McFarland said she is already organizing a cleanup campaign and a preservation committee.

She said she'd like to see the keeper's house turned into a museum or gift shop.