Public body's stance against Culloden Battlefield luxury home plan welcomed by protestors who say it would detract from historically sensitive setting
Campaigners against an “unacceptable” plan to build a luxury house beside Culloden Battlefield have welcomed a major public body’s stance against it.
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has told Highland Council planners it remains opposed to the proposed development on a greenfield site at Muirfield Farm, Westhill.
Opponents say the proposed U-shaped, single-storey home, accessed from the B9006 road, would impinge upon historically sensitive land.
The site is said to mark where the left of the Jacobite front line stood on April 16, 1746, and where they later retreated in the face of defeat.
There are also concerns about the visual impact it might have on the battlefield site.
In response to a consultation received on December 21, HES urged Highland Council planning and building standards officials to seek advice from their archaeology and conservation service.
In their advice, they added: “We currently maintain an objection…based on a lack of information to help us understand the proposed development’s potential impact on the battlefield.”
HES says it carried out extensive research into the proposed development area’s contribution to understanding the battle and battlefield landscape, adding: “We concluded that the original proposed development would be likely to have a significant impact on the battlefield landscape.”
Even if work to reduce the development’s visual impact was enough for HES to remove the objection, it says archaeological investigations would be needed to identify any deposits, artefacts or remains associated with the battle.
A spokeswoman for the Group To Stop Development At Culloden said: “The continued opposition of HES is welcome.
“Historians have established that the site was where the left flank of the Jacobite Army was engaged by Cobhams and Kingstons Dragoons.
“It was also the site of a lone battle between French gunners with a single cannon and Hanoverian Artillery.
“During the retreat, brave action by the Irish Piquets allowed numerous Jacobites to escape. This all took place on the site of the proposed luxury house.”
The planning application by a Mrs and Mrs Wares has currently attracted 23 public comments, with 21 opposed and two supportive.
The National Trust for Scotland, the battlefield’s guardian body, said the proposal was “a particularly worrisome example of development encroachment into the areas designated as the battlefield inventory.”
