The Press and Journal

Highland planners yesterday gave their provisional approval for a futuristic new town boasting unique architecture on the Moray Firth coast. Agreement for the outline proposals for a "world-class" housing and leisure complex at Whiteness Head between Inverness and Nairn - featuring 1,950 homes, a 500-yacht marina, a 120-room hotel, primary school, community hall, health and sports centres - came with a comprehensive list of conditions. The developers, a local consortium called Whiteness Property Company Ltd which bought the £7million site two years ago, must contribute to the cost of infrastructure, including new roads and additional schools. It must also guarantee there is "no significant detrimental impact" on the two square miles of land which has multiple protected-area status. There was unanimous support from Highland Council's planning committee following a visit yesterday morning to the site which once housed the McDermott's oil fabrication yard.