Historic Scotland was accused of putting money before the monster and a famous ruined castle at a public inquiry yesterday into the conservation body's application for a major #4m tourist development on Loch Ness.

The organisation, charged with safeguarding the nation's heritage, was also criticised for planning to erect an eyesore at Urquhart Castle, one of the most photographed landmarks in Scotland.

Historic Scotland, which looks after the sixteenth-century ruined castle, wants to build a car park for 118 cars, coaches, and caravans, a tearoom to seat 70, a shop, and a visitor centre.

Although Scottish Heritage does not require planning permission, it had to make a courtesy ''notice of proposed development'' to Highland Council, which rejected the proposal.

The Scottish Office ordered a public inquiry and Scottish Office reporter William Patterson began hearing evidence yesterday, not in Drumnadrochit, where suitable premises could not be found, but 13 miles away in an Inverness hotel. It is expected to last two weeks.

The organisation's north region director, Mr Robert McIlwraith, defended the proposals, which he said would end the turning away of tens of thousands of visitors to the castle every year and ''rid them of all the disappointment that entails''.

However, Highland Council's senior representative at the inquiry, Mr Alan Simpson, suggested the motivation was money, and not improved access. ''The suspicion people have about this development is that the financial element has always been obscured,'' he said.

The entire plan has led to an outcry in the bustling tourism village of Drumnadrochit, two miles from the castle, where traders fear any commercial development could devastate their businesses.