Flat Holm for sale: historic Welsh island could be sold off The island has a rich history, having first been inhabited in the Bronze Age and supposedly used as a retreat by Saint Cadoc and his followers in the sixth century. In the Victorian period, soldiers were based there to guard Britain against possible attack by the French navy, while a santorium for cholera patients was built in 1896. It is however most famous as the place from which the inventor Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first wireless signals over open sea to the Welsh hamlet of Lavernock. A new owner will be able to boast of having his own 110ft Grade II listed lighthouse, the most southerly pub in Wales (the Gull and Leek) and two helipads. Estate agent Chris Hyde, of agents Cooke and Arkwright, told the BBC that the island had excellent potential for an investor, due to the fact it is a reasonable size and already has some buildings. "You could derive an income from it," he said. I don't think it's the place for someone wanting to build a big hotel as it has protections. But it could be run in the same way it is now and a private buyer could run boats. The proposed disposal of the island has caused some concern among locals. Glynis Parsons of the Flat Holm Society, a voluntary organisation which helps manage the island, told The Telegraph that the island was a "unique conservation area," and that it was hoped a sale might be avoided by offloading the island's operational costs onto another party. "The Council is open to finding a solution and a proposal will be put to them by the Flat Holm Project and Society, to offer an alternate method of funding - which is what we are trying desperately to establish at present," she said. A spokesman for Cardiff Council said: "This is a proposed budget which will not be set by the Council until February 28. Where it is proposed facilities are closing we will be looking for expressions of interest from outside groups and organisations such as co-operatives and social enterprises to try to ensure they continue.