The billionaire ruler of Dubai has lost a battle to build a lodge for family members at his Scottish estate following a backlash from locals.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum wanted to expand his Inverinate Estate in the Highlands by erecting a six bedroom building designed to accommodate his relatives.
The proposal led to 31 objections being made to Highland Council by residents who said it was too close to a neighbouring bungalow and would spoil the natural beauty of the area at Loch Duich.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (left, pictured with former wife Princess Haya Bint Al-Hussain), the billionaire ruler of Dubai, has lost a battle to build a lodge for family members at his Scottish estate following local backlash
Roddy Macleod, 71, whose home of 35 years sits just 20 metres from the proposed lodge, said the new building in Wester Ross would invade his privacy and spoil his enjoyment of his property.
The sheikh’s application was refused at a meeting of the local authority’s north planning applications committee on Tuesday despite officials recommending that it should be approved.
It is the latest blow for the Sheikh, who earlier this year lost a high-profile court fight with his ex wife after she fled their home with his children.
The court ruling in March this year, which the Sheikh had tried to supress, revealed embarrassing details about the couple’s marriage and sensational claims he had kidnapped his own daughters
Her Royal Highness Haya bint al-Hussein fled Dubai with his children Princess Jalila, then 11, and son Prince Zayed, seven, to the UK in April last year over claims she feared for her life.
The Sheikh sent British lawyers to the Royal Courts of Justice in London to demand the ‘summary return’ of his children.
But he later abandoned his demand for their return and they were made wards of the court. The couple have since divorced.
The billionaire was looking to add a six-bedroom property to his Inverinate Estate for family
The Sheikh’s property borders the homes of neighbours who have opposed the proposals
The court clash is estimated to have cost an unprecedented £5.2million.
Despite a backdrop of family turmoil, the Sheikh has refused to give up on his Scottish estate plans, although he may now have to admit defeat here too.
Nine councillors on the committee voted to refuse planning permission while five voted to approve it.
Councillor Maxine Smith, the chair of the committee, led a motion to block the proposal because of the house’s size and its proximity to Mr Macleod’s property.
She said: ‘I really don’t understand why they need to build right next to somebody else.
‘Putting that massive mansion right next to a small bungalow is just awful for the people who live in that place.’
Locals also raised concerns that the proposed access road which the sheikh wanted to use for the lodge was unsuitable and would cause increased traffic issues.
The sheikh’s architects altered the design of the building and reduced the number of bedrooms from nine to six in a bid to gain approval.
The plans received 31 objections with locals saying the building was too close to neighbouring property. Last month, officials asked why the lodge could not be moved elsewhere
An artist impression of the proposed building that was rejected by the local council
Last month, planning officials wrote to his representatives asking why the lodge could not be moved to another part of the 63,000-acre estate.
They received a reply saying that he bought the land for the specific purpose of building the lodge and would not relocate it.
A letter sent by the sheikh’s planning agents stated: ‘To move the proposed lodge further west beyond the existing stone boundary wall and watercourse would take the proposed development completely outwith the building plot which the applicant purchased for the sole purpose of erecting a dwellinghouse/lodge.
‘Moving the proposed lodge further west would therefore make this purchase meaningless.
‘In this regard, the applicant purchased a development plot not an amenity buffer strip, which effectively the purchase plot would become if the applicant was to amend its proposals further as suggested, for which it is understood, there is no reasonable justification in planning policy terms.’ The 70-year-old sheikh, who has six wives and 23 children. has an estimated £14 billion fortune and bought the estate more than 20 years ago.
The Highland retreat already boasts helipads and a 14 bedroom holiday home, next door to a 16 bedroom luxury hunting lodge with pool and gym.
Last year he was also granted permission to build a 19 bedroom lodge as well as a nine bedroom house at the estate.