The local authority said these plots are often advertised with misleading claims about their potential for development.

Many of these sites are in environmentally sensitive areas, lack proper access, and have no infrastructure. Despite this, they are being sold, sometimes for as little as £7,000, to buyers who may not be aware of the planning rules.

Economy and Infrastructure chair, Councillor Ken Gowans, said: “The Highland Council are very concerned about the continued marketing of small plots of land that are clearly unsuitable for development. We strongly urge anyone considering buying any land to seek professional planning advice before making a purchase, although this is particularly the case with such plots.

“These often raise serious planning concerns, including environmental damage, unsafe road access, and pollution risks. Planning permission is highly unlikely to be granted for development where that is the case.”

What’s Happening?

Recently, The Highland Council, with support from Police Scotland and NatureScot, issued an Enforcement Notice and Stop Notice on land designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The notices were appealed to the Scottish Ministers but were dismissed by the Scottish Government Reporter and required landowners to:

• Cease the use of the Land for the purposes of leisure/recreation including overnight accommodation.
• Remove from the Land the camping ‘pods‘ and caravans.
• Reinstate the Land affected by the unauthorised engineering operations, i.e. the reprofiling of land to form areas of hardstanding and the formation/upgrading of access tracks, to its previous condition, and
• Remove from the Land all building materials, rubble and/or debris arising from compliance with the above requirements.

This action was taken after repeated requests to the majority landowner selling the plots were ignored.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. In several other locations, land has been divided into dozens of small plots and resold, sometimes multiple times. In some cases, owners who realise the land cannot be developed have further subdivided and resold it, continuing the cycle.

What You Should Know

• Planning permission is required for most types of development.
• Many of these existing plots are in areas with flood risk, poor access, or environmental protections.
• Enforcement action will be taken where necessary, including the removal of unauthorised structures.
• There have also been reports of intimidating behaviour at some sites, which is being investigated by Police Scotland.

The Highland Council is working closely with local communities, Police Scotland, Nature Scot, SEPA, and other partners to address this issue.