Heritage campaigners have hailed a decision to block a planning application on the Culloden battlefield as a step towards safeguarding the site for future generations.
Highland Council has rejected a plan to convert a stone farm building on the south west side of the historic moor into a modern dwelling house.
The farmhouse - Culchunaig Steading - is within both the Inventory of Historic Battlefields area and Culloden Muir Conservation Area, and has previously been subject to a failed planning bid.
Culloden moor pic: NTS
Culloden is famous as the site of the final stand of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, which saw Bonnie Prince Charlie's army of Highlanders defeated by UK Government troops.
It has been imortalised in songs, books and on screen - most recently in the popular TV Series Outlander, starring Sam Heughan.
The National Trust for Scotland, which cares for and protects the ‘core’ segment of the Culloden battlefield, has welcomed the decision by Highland Councillors to refuse the proposed development at Culchunaig Steading.
READ MORE: Anger at new £1m plans for holiday village at Culloden
The Trust objected to the revised application last month, in light of information uncovered through new and ongoing historic and archaeological research which highlighted its importance in the battle, which marks its 275th anniversary this year.
This is the second planning application to be rejected in recent months. In December a proposal to convert the Treetops equestrian centre into a leisure resort incorporating 13 lodges built on stilts, a cafe, shop, laundry and restaurant was also turned down.
The National Trust for Scotland’s Operations Manager at Culloden, Raoul Curtis-Machin said: “We are pleased that the Council have acted to protect the area’s important heritage with this decision.
READ MORE: Culloden, the brutal beginning of the end for Highland Scotland
"Our charity knows how much the public value this special place and we are all concerned about the impact of encroaching development on one of Scotland’s most significant battle sites.
"We all need to play our part in ensuring it remains for future generations.”
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