ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners have failed in their legal challenge against plans for almost 2000 new houses in the Cairngorms National Park.

They had challenged the Cairngorms National Park Authority's planning blueprint which would allow the developments which include a new town near Aviemore, An Camas Mor, with up to 1500 houses over the next 20 years, 117 new homes in the village of Carrbridge, 300 at Kingussie and 40 at Nethy Bridge.

The Invertebrate Conservation Trust, Badenoch & Strathspey Conservation Group, the Cairngorms Campaign and the Scottish Campaign for National Parks joined forces to appeal a ruling in September by Lord Glennie in the Court of Session, which had rejected previous challenges.

This time they appealed on the grounds the appropriate assessment of the impact on housing on wildlife and the environment was unlawful because it was postponed to a later stage in the planning process. However this was rejected by Lady Paton yesterday.

Grant Moir, chief executive of the park authority welcomed the court's judgment in relation to the Cairngorms National Park Local Plan, reaffirming the rejection of all the grounds of challenge to the document.

"The local plan therefore remains in place as it stands and the Cairngorms National Park Authority will continue to work to deliver the four aims of the park collectively," he said.

But Craig Macadam, director of Buglife Scotland, said the park authority should have made a more rigorous scientific appraisal to assess the ecological impacts of proposed developments on the internationally designated features before including these in its Local Plan.

He said: "This ruling is a major setback not just for the protection of 'protected' wildlife, landscape and heritage in the Cairngorms but potentially for future assessments throughout the European Union where it set a precedent for inadequate assessment of sites."

He called for public support to continue the fight to safeguard "our irreplaceable natural heritage".