New strategy to protect Culloden Battlefield from development
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AN international fight to protect Culloden Battlefield from encroaching development is on the road to victory
Now there could be moves to make it a world heritage site.
A new map showing a much wider area of protection has been drawn up and goes to Highland Council’s Inverness City Committee on December 3.
The conservation area is now about five times bigger than the existing one of 536 acres.
SNP councillor Ken Gowans said it does not mean there will be no development, but any building in the area will have to be sympathetic to the conservation aims and it is unlikely there will be any large-scale development.
A Scottish Government decision to allow a 16-house development only a musket shot from the site led to a worldwide protest campaign – Stop Development at Culloden – and a petition which has attracted 18,000 signatures so far.
The homes have never been built but a decision is imminent on the site.
Cllr Gowans said: “We need to protect that area for future generations. It was a pivotal battle in British history and is of huge international interest and it is incumbent on us to protect it.
“The battle actually covered a far greater area than that which the National Trust owns and runs.”
He added: “It might be that there is a move for making it a world heritage site, but that is a huge commitment because making a bid costs so much.
“It is also a war grave and one of the most emotive places in the Highlands, if not the UK. Visitors come from all over the world to pay their respects and it is one of the most important visitor attractions in Scotland.”
“The time warp TV series Outlander with its Jacobite connections will create a lot of added interest in the battlefield.”
The battle in 1746 resulted in the Jacobite uprising under Prince Charles Edward Stuart being routed by the Duke of Cumberland’s government forces. The hour-long battle led to more than 1,000 being killed, mostly on the Jacobite side.
