Loch Ness-side holiday cabins at The Inch Hotel near Fort Augustus ‘risk ancient woodland’, warns Woodland Trust
Ancient woodland is at risk if plans for holiday cabins near Loch Ness go ahead, the Woodland Trust has warned.
It has objected to plans to build 10 holiday accommodation units on land 70 metres to the east of The Inch Hotel, which sits just to the north of Fort Augustus.
It warned that officially designated and "irreplaceable" ancient woodland sits immediately next to the site and it said that the applicant, Inchnacardoch Lodge Ltd, had provided "no information relating to arboricultural or ecological matters" as part of their application. They added that this "lack of appropriate assessment does not make it possible to determine whether the ancient woodland will be suitably protected".
And the trust said that without such information it will "maintain a holding objection" to the proposed development "until it can be demonstrated that impacts on the ancient woodland will be avoided".
Setting out its case, it said: "We hold concerns regarding this application due to the potential for impact on ancient woodland to the north of the proposed development site.
"This woodland is designated as 2a Ancient Woodland of Semi Natural Origin (ASNO) on NatureScot’s Ancient Woodland Inventory (AWI).
"The application in question directly adjoins the ancient woodland to the north. While the applicant has provided drawings of the proposals within their documentation, it is difficult to determine the exact proximity of the proposed holiday units and other infrastructure to the ancient woodland edge and the boundary trees. Where development, particularly residential or leisure-related, is proposed in close proximity to ancient woodland it can result in adverse
"impacts through recreational disturbance and pollution, such as noise, light and dust. Adverse impacts can also occur where there is the potential for root encroachment on ancient woodland boundary trees.
"It is important that new development is able to avoid and mitigate any adverse impacts on nearby ancient woodland. We consider that a 15-metre buffer zone should be established between the ancient woodland and any form of development as a means of ameliorating deterioration through disturbance and pollution, and ensuring avoidance of impacts on root systems of trees on the ancient woodland boundary.
"Where roots are shown to extend further than 15m, then a large buffer may be required."
Under the proposals, Inchnacardoch Lodge Ltd wants to erect the 10 single-storey accommodation units on open land immediately to the north of the existing hotel, which houses 17 bedrooms and was formerly known as Inchnacardoch Lodge before being rebranded as The Inch.
Each cabin would feature an open plan king-size bed/kitchen/living area, as well as shower room with toilet. There would also be an outside decking area.
Drawings submitted with the application depict the single-storey structures with grey-coloured slanted roofs and timber-clad walls. The hotel’s existing car park/access road would also be extended onto the site of the cabins so that guests could access them with their vehicles, with provision for 14 new car parking spaces and a turning circle proposed.
In a supporting statement, the hotel’s agents, Denholm Partnership Architects, said that that this proposal was “essential” for the hotel’s future viability.
“The owners have been looking at a number of options to extend the accommodation provision on the site over the last few years,” they said.
“The idea is to provide on site accommodation for those attending residential training / seminar events which will be the cornerstone of the long term plans for the hotel.
“The ‘season’ for holiday only accommodation in the area is very short and therefore the proposal for this type of accommodation and associated facilities will help to ensure that booking levels will be sustained year round and this plan is essential to the sustainability of the business in the long term.”
They continued: “Changes in patterns of tourism and the economics of tourism have resulted in a number of similar sized hotels around Scotland becoming unviable and closing down and it is essential for the business to create new markets and opportunities such as this proposal.”
Transport Scotland, Scottish Water and Highland Council’s flood risk management team have no objections to the proposals.
A former hunting lodge, and a base for the RAF during World War II, The Inch became a hotel in the 1950s.
In 2019 an application for a new hotel accommodation block in the grounds was granted, but the hotel has said that the current economic market had resulted in "greatly inflated building costs making such an undertaking economically unviable", and that this new application for 10 cabins was "the only option that is viable".
The hotel also secured permission in summer 2023 for the erection of a new single-storey block behind and to the side of the main hotel, with a dilapidated shed to be removed to make way for it. Conditions were attached designating this building for staff accommodation only.
