Public to be consulted on Culloden Moor conservation area
The Highland Council is to carry out a six week consultation from 23 March to 13 May 2015 on revised proposals for the Culloden Moor conservation area, character appraisal and management plan.
Historic Scotland included the Battle of Culloden in their non-statutory “Battlefields Inventory” which was published in 2011. In light of this publication; recent research into the Culloden Moor area; and recent guidance on the designation and management of conservation areas, the Council is now proposing a review of Culloden Moor conservation area.
Leader of The Highland Council’s Inverness City Area Committee said: “This consultation is welcome as the existing plan was first designated in 1968 and its review is long overdue. This will be the first major review of the existing conservation area by the Council in 47 years.”
Councillor Thomas Prag, Chair of the Council’s Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee said: “The review is important and it has been in progress for some time now. I am delighted that the Council’s Heritage Conservation Officer has brought it forward. The work has been detailed and complicated with a lot of work involved in the creation of the visual maps.
“How people approach the Battlefield and how they feel about it when they are there is important, and hopefully the consultation will address that. Everyone will have the opportunity to have their say on the proposals prior to designation of the new conservation area which must be formally notified to Scottish Government Ministers.”
Members of The Highland Council’s City of Inverness Area Committee thanked officers for the work to date and endorsed the proposals to consult the public on a revised conservation area designation at Culloden Moor prior to final adoption and notification to Scottish Government.
The consultation will be widely promoted and advertised with copies of the proposed appraisal and plan available on the Council’s website and in libraries, Services Points and Council offices. Key stakeholders including The National Trust, Historic Scotland, Forestry Commission Scotland, Glasgow University, and Highland Historic Building Trust among others will be consulted.
The outcomes of the consultation and recommendations for the Culloden Moor Conservation Area Management Plan will be presented at a future meeting of the Council’s, Planning, Development and Infrastructure Committee for adoption as supplementary guidance to the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan.