Councillors approve Culloden Battlefield row homes plan

Highland councillors have approved amended plans for the design and layout of 16 homes opposed by a campaign set up to protect Culloden Battlefield.

Planning permission for properties at Viewhill, near Inverness, had been granted by a Scottish government-appointed planning official in 2014.

However, changes to the design and layout of the homes followed the transfer of the site to new owners.

Campaigners argue that the area forms part of the battlefield.

Highland councillors had earlier deferred a decision on Aberdeenshire-based Kirkwood Homes' project to give the developer time to come back with designs more sensitive to the surrounding area.

Highland Council's south planning applications committee has now voted five votes to three in favour of granting planning permission.

The Group to Stop Development at Culloden had hoped the committee would give archaeologists a chance to examine the site before making a decision.

The site is about half a mile from the location of the battle, fought between Jacobite and government forces in April 1746, it is within the battlefield's conservation area.

Campaigners have argued that the fighting took place in a much wider area than what is regarded as the battle's location.

National Trust for Scotland, which manages a large area of the battlefield, said it was "deeply disappointed" by the south planning committee's decision.

Head of policy Diarmid Hearns said: "Scotland's historic sites and stunning landscapes could be lost forever.

"We need to make sure that the places which make Scotland so special get the protection they deserve."