{"id":28474,"date":"2020-12-04T16:13:36","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T16:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogsnew.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=28474"},"modified":"2020-12-04T16:13:36","modified_gmt":"2020-12-04T16:13:36","slug":"ihbc-features-heritage-from-the-doorstep-highlands-family-devastated-as-sheikh-gets-backing-for-luxury-lodge-next-door","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=28474","title":{"rendered":"IHBC features \u2018Heritage from the doorstep\u2019: Highlands family ‘devastated’ as Sheikh gets backing for luxury lodge next door"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A father and daughter from the west Highlands have been left \u2018devastated\u2019 after one of the world\u2019s richest men was given permission in principle to build a luxury retreat next to their home, reports The Scotsman.<\/em><\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

… family home is around 20 metres away from the lodge …<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

… very rural here … this house will be extremely close …<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

… reporter said…”appropriate character and appearance for its location.” …<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

The Scotsman<\/em> writes:<\/p>\n

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai has been told the Scottish Government planning reporter is \u2018minded\u2019 to approve plans for a six-bedroom lodge at Inverinate, Kyle of Lochalsh, Wester Ross.<\/p>\n

The proposals on the Sheik\u2019s 62-000 acre Killilan and Inverinate Estate were earlier rejected by Highland Council and referred on appeal to the reporter.<\/p>\n

Roddy MacLeod and his daughter and Tina MacLeod from Inverinate, whose family home is around 20 metres away from the lodge site, are \u2018devastated\u2019 by the planning decision, which is subject to a legal agreement.<\/p>\n

Ms MacLeod, who co-owns the Str\u00f2m contemporary lifestyle store in Kyle of Lochalsh, said:\u00a0\u201cWe are devastated.<\/p>\n

“It feels that if you are rich and powerful in Scotland, you can do what you want. It is very worrying for the future and for the future of the Highlands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sheik has thousands of acres across his estate and he chooses to build right next door to us. It is very rural here, we live up a quiet road and this house will be extremely close to our home, around 20 metres away.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad is fairly devastated and we have the new nightmare of the building works to come. Our peaceful way of life is now over.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have never had any dealings with the Sheik, we just live next to his estate grounds. He is never here, apparently as there is not enough room for him, his family and the staff. This house is around half a mile from the old lodge. We don\u2019t know why it has to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sheikh, the ruler of Dubai who counts the Queen among his friends, bought the estate more than 20 years ago for around \u00a32million, it is understood.<\/p>\n

A total of 31 individual objections were received to the lodge plan, with concerns raised about the property being built as a holiday home and the use of the pier next to the plot.<\/p>\n

The plot overlooks Loch Duich and was sold to Smech, the Sheik\u2019s property army, by the Church of Scotland.<\/p>\n

The land came with planning permission for a single house and the Sheik\u2019s revised plan for the six-bedroom lodge were later rejected by councillors given the adverse impact of the property on the character of the existing area and the MacLeod\u2019s property.<\/p>\n

However, the reporter said: \u201cI am satisfied that, with a height of one and half storeys, the overall design would reduce the scale and massing of the proposed house ensuring that it would be of an appropriate character and appearance for its location.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lodge is the fourth house developed on the Sheik\u2019s land at Inverinate with the planning reporter making it a requirement of planning approval that he now makes a contribution to affordable housing in the Highlands.<\/p>\n

The planning reporter, in his Notice of Intention to grant planning permission, said: \u201cThe appellant confirms its agreement to the requirement for this contribution and to the upfront payment option of \u00a330,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more….<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A father and daughter from the west Highlands have been left \u2018devastated\u2019 after one of the world\u2019s richest men was given permission in principle to build a luxury retreat next to their home, reports The Scotsman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ihbc-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28476,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28474\/revisions\/28476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}