Strathpeffer glamping pod business plan lodged with Highland Council
A glamping pod site could be created on the western outskirts of Strathpeffer after plans were lodged with Highland Council.
Applicant Angus MacLeod of EH1 Holdings Ltd is initially seeking to install seven glamping pods on a vacant field sandwiched between Coulwood in the north, Elsick Farm to the south and Blackmuir Wood to the east..
The application would also require a change of use for the field, which is currently designated for agriculture and would be rezoned as leisure use if approved.
And, if the business is approved and proves successful, documents submitted with the application suggest the site could potentially double the number of glamping pods on site in a future second phase of development.
The initial planning application for seven pods indicates that these would be built using standard metal shipping containers and stood on ground screws to minimise disruption to the ground beneath them.
Each pod would also have its own raised timber decking area and timber pergola, produced locally, with planting introduced as screening.
A supporting statement lodged with the application said: “Pods would be converted from standard 20-foot and 10-foot metal shipping containers, insulated and fitted out internally to reflect the prevailing market levels of expected comfort and facilities.”
It continued: “Car parking would be located to the north around the site entrance, with crushed rock and bark paths leading to each of the pods. These would be timber-edged to avoid path spread.
“The site has potential for 12-14 container pods, with development envisaged over two phases. The first phase would consist of seven converted containers with associated car parking located to the north of the site.”
Each pod would be powered by a combination of mains electricity and solar panels mounted on the containers’ green sedum roofs.
The wider site would include a timber shelter/picnic area and planting. There would also be mixed tree and hedge-planting on the land’s north, south and west boundaries “to preserve amenity”, with plant species selected to maintain local patterns.
Access to the new glamping site would be via the passing A834 on the western edge of the land,
