McCartney and her husband faced objections including fears of threat to local otters and ‘hideous’ design
The fashion designer Stella McCartney has been granted permission to build a £5m home on a spectacular Highland peninsula after a three-year planning battle over the threat to local otters and the “hideous” modernist design.
McCartney and her husband, Alasdhair Willis, a creative director at Adidas, want to build the split-level property with a turf roof and natural stone walls on the rocky outcrop overlooking Loch Ailort, west of Fort William, 30 metres above sea level.
Opponents raised objections about the likely impact of the property’s size and design, as well as the impact on landscape and wildlife of the remote Moidart peninsula.
However, amended plans were submitted to the Highland council and officers recommended on Wednesday that they grant permission, subject to conditions, which included the protection of wildlife, public access to the beach below the property and measures to mitigate the effect of external lighting on the surrounding landscape.
