THE operator of an award-winning holiday complex has warned that plans for a wind farm could kill off his new business.
Eagle Brae, which offers self-catering accommodation in seven luxury log cabins in Strathglass, to the north of Loch Ness, only opened in August 2013, but it has just won the Highlands and Islands Tourism award for Best Holiday Accommodation.
Its owners claim that plans by German developer ABO Wind's for Allt Carach wind farm are undermining their efforts. They say the cabins would have prime view of most, if not all, the planned 25 turbines, each over 430ft high.
Mike Spencer-Nairn, of Eagle Brae, said: "What on earth are we doing allowing a huge industrial wind farm to be proposed slap bang in front of sustainable, prize-winning holiday accommodation at Eagle Brae?"
He said hundreds of visitors had been surveyed and 82.35 per cent had confirmed the wind farm would influence whether they returned to Eagle Brae.
But Tom Harrison, project manager for ABO Wind, said the scale of the development had not yet been decided.
He added: "The proposed development at Allt Carach is in the very early stages. We are still in the process of assessing the site to establish whether it is viable for a wind farm.
"We do not yet know how many turbines there may be or in fact the height of them yet. If we get to the stage of submitting a planning application, as with all wind farm developments, there is a consultation process where people can have their say."
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