Crunch talks are scheduled to take place on whether to turn a farm steading near the historic Culloden Battlefield into a luxury home, complete with zen garden and chill-out zone.
Plans were lodged to turn the dilapidated building at Culchunaig, Scottish Highlands, into a family home with a zen garden and hot tub.
The site sits near to a portion of the battlefield under the ownership of the National Trust of Scotland (NTS), which manages around a third of the area where the final encounter was staged between the Jacobites and British Army in 1746.
The Highland Council approved the plans for the development in September but ministers “called in” the application to review after concerns were raised about preservation of the historic site.
NTS did not object to this proposal but noted that the proposed development “may impact on physical remains associated with the battle”.
However Dr Christopher Duffy, of the Historians’ Council on Culloden, earlier described the proposed development as an “appalling intrusion on this national war grave.”
National Trust for Scotland owns around one third of the land where the battle was fought, with the remainder owned by private landowners, but historians fear that not enough statutory protections are in place for such sites.
Today a government representative will conduct a site visit alongside historians and planning experts.
Dr Duffy will be represented by Andrew McKenzie, a former manager at Culloden Battlefield and owner of Highland Historian heritage consultancy and bespoke tours.
Mr McKenzie said: “It is hugely concerning that we are, yet again, having to make the arguments for conservation on Culloden Battlefield.
“A lot of work has been done to collect and further the understanding of what happened at Culchunaig, and that information is now freely available to the Scottish Government reporter and the councillors who voted on this application.
It cannot now be argued that this was not an incredibly important part of the battle site.
Physically and tactically that has been proven beyond doubt.
“This is not about preventing a derelict building from being made safe.
“This is about understanding that a precedent has already been set; and the current decision has the potential to either correct or perpetuate that precedent for developing a known battle site. It is also about ensuring that we conserve what is left of our heritage; knowing as we do that technology and practices, particularly in archaeology, will develop beyond our current abilities for research.
He added: “If we cannot protect a site that has such strong historical evidence, the we are seeing the systematic destruction of historic sites by processes that ignore knowledge.”
Concerns have been raised about the precedent set by the approval of 16 homes at Viewhill Farm, with the development falling within the battlefield boundary.
Operations manager at Culloden, Raoul Curtis-Machin, said converting the dilapidated farm building would not alter the sight lines from the battlefield.
But on Culchunaig, Mr Curtis-Machin added: “Where our genuine surprise comes from is the fact that the Scottish Government has chosen to call in this planning application, yet it took no action over far more destructive and intrusive proposals.
“Viewhill Farm is ‘Exhibit A’ where the Scottish Government’s Scottish Reporter overturned Highland Council’s refusal and allowed it to go ahead. Now it forms a real blot on the landscape, directly in line of site from the cairn in the middle of the battlefield.”
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