Anger at plans for development near Culloden Moor

Objections are growing over a proposed development at TreeTop Stables, in Faebuie, near Culloden Moor.

The latest objection was made by the National Trust for Scotland in the light of conservation zone status being applied by Highland Council to the wider historic battlefield of Culloden, although only the ‘core’ part of the site is in Trust ownership.

This in turn was a protective measure put in place after the Scottish Government Reporter overturned a decision by the council to refuse planning permission for a luxury housing development at nearby Viewhill Farm.

The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745 and the last pitched battle fought on British soil. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite forces of Prince Charles Edward Stuart were decisively defeated by Government troops on Culloden Moor.

This new proposal is for conversion of the existing TreeTop equestrian centre, which has little intrusive impact, to enable construction of holiday, leisure and hospitality facilities, including 13 lodges, a cafe/shop, reception building, laundry and restaurant.

Diarmid Hearns, the Trust’s head of policy, said: ‘This will be the first big test of the council’s initiative to try and protect what remains of historic battlefield and its setting through a conservation zone.

‘The zone could not be applied retrospectively to the Viewhill housing development but we hope that it will prevent further unsympathetic encroachment on this pivotal site for Scotland’s story.

The Culloden battlefield memorial cairn

‘Our great concern about Viewhill is that it would set a precedent that developers could exploit, leading to the absolute loss over time of an historic landscape.

‘If conservation zone status does not prevent this development, it confirms our opinion that Scotland’s planning laws must be completely overhauled if we are to have a fair chance of preserving places that our vital to our heritage and in themselves intrinsic to our tourism economy.’

Another objection has been lodged by the 1745 Association.

The voluntary association was established in 1946 to study the Jacobite period, record and preserve the memory of those who participated in it, and endeavour to safeguard the Jacobite heritage.

Association chairman Michael Nevin said: ‘It is a matter of major concern that this development is being mooted so soon after the approval of the View Hill residential development within the Culloden Battlefield, which we opposed.

‘The Tree Tops proposal represents a significant threat to the integrity of the battlefield site.’
In its formal objection, the association has pointed out that previous planning applications for small scale developments such as single houses or stables at this same site have been refused or withdrawn.

Mr Nevin, a professional economist, added: ‘Official statistics show that visitor numbers to Culloden almost doubled from 97,000 in 2014 to 180,000 in 2017, bringing spending power and jobs into the great city of Inverness and its environs.

‘You don’t have to be Nostradamus to predict that, if Highland councillors continue to wave through entirely inappropriate residential and leisure developments within the Culloden Conservation Area, visitor numbers will start to decline, jeopardising the jobs and livelihoods of the people whom they were elected to serve.’

The association added that if Tree Tops proceeds, it will mark a further step in the progressive destruction of a battlefield of national importance and international resonance.

Mr Nevin concluded: ‘Many of our members consider this to be sacred ground, and, lest we forget, it is a war grave.’