Bid for 5km ‘private road’ on Badenoch estate to be decided
Cairngorms National Park Authority planners are recommending that proposals for a 4.5km track across Pitmain and Glenbanchor estates should be knocked back.
Its start and the western end would lie around one mile north-west of Newtonmore.
A proposed bridge will cross the Allt a’ Chaorann – a tributary of the River Calder – and its farthest, eastern end will be one mile to the east of Loch Gynack around two miles north-west of Kingussie.
The application by Pitmain and Glenbanchor Estate Ltd will be heard by the CNPA’s planning committee tomorrow in Grantown.
Objections are set to be made by representatives from the North East Mountain Trust and Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation Group as well as access campaigner Dave Morris, of Newtonmore.
The applicant has said the track would be used for timber extraction amongst other things but those battling the bid have said it will in effect be a private road.
Recommending refusal Ed Swales, the CNPA’s monitoring and enforcement officer, stated: “The principle of a track for timber extraction is one that policy supports and under some circumstances is a form of permitted development.
“This track, however, is for a range of estate uses and would allow simple vehicle access from one side of the estate to the other without using the public road network.”
He said the track had not been designed to minimise impacts on the natural environment. Mr Swales concluded: “Officers do not consider the economic benefit of the extraction of timber is enough to outweigh the adverse effects on the landscape character, visual amenity and special landscape qualities of the national park.”
Mr Morris said: “It is very good that the planning officers have recommended refusal.
“If the committee was to go against their officers’ recommendation it would open the gate to more landowner applications for private roads for so called forestry purposes. This road proposal needs to be abandoned. It is completely unnecessary.”
• More details on the application can be found by clicking here and onto the appropriate agenda item.