Planners yesterday gave the go-ahead for a futuristic luxury lodge to be built in one of the loneliest spots in the Highlands.

The #3m lodge will be erected on the Corrour Estate, on the edge of Rannoch Moor, Lochaber.

Members of Highland Council's area planning committee in Lochaber approved the ultra-modern design submitted by international architect Moshe Safdie.

Councillors at the planning meeting in Fort William heard that planning officials were recommending that the new building be given the go-ahead.

The five-storey property, complete with eight en-suite bedrooms, has been commissioned by the estate owners, Joseph and Lisbet Koerner.

The Harvard University lecturers will not stay in the new sumptuous retreat as they prefer to live in a smaller house on the estate when they are on holiday in Scotland.

Instead, they plan to lease out the new lodge to well-off guests at up to #25,000 per week, depending on the time of year.

Set on the shores of Loch Ossian, the new home will offer outstanding views of the 48,000-acre estate.

Access to the lodge can only be gained by driving 20 miles along a single track private road which leaves the A9, near Dalwhinne, Inverness-shire.

The dwelling will replace a Victorian country sports retreat which was destroyed by fire in the 1940s.

The planned building is being described as ''one of the few examples of world-class twentieth century architecture in Scotland'', by the Royal Fine Arts Society.

To be built in pink granite, the new Corrour Lodge is intended to attract the rich and famous who are looking for privacy.

Mr Andrew Hamilton, estate factor, said: ''The lodge will be available all the year round. It will offer additional employment and secure the future of the community of Corrour.''

The Koerners bought Corrour Estate in 1996. Thousands of deer roam the land and it is home to more than 70 species of birds, including eagles and buzzards.

Mrs Lisbet Koerner (nee Rausing) is one of the heiresses to the #5000m British-based Tetrapak empire, the world's biggest packaging group, originally founded in Sweden. The company is famous for its milk and fruit juice cartons.