Dubai’s billionaire ruler has lodged plans to build another mansion on his sprawling Highland estate.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum has submitted an application with Highland Council to build an 11-bedroom lodge on his 63,000 acre Inverinate Estate in Wester Ross.
Paperwork argues that the house is required because of the sheikh’s entourage – and that he needs more space to make sure everyone who travels with him has a place to stay.
The site already boasts helipads, two large homes, a 16-bed hunting lodge, a pool and a gym.
Permission for an extension to one of the homes, which has 17 bedrooms, was signed off last month.
He is also looking for permission to relocate gas tanks on land 147ft east of Benula Lodge in Kyle.
If approved it will be the latest in a long line of additions to the sheikh’s estate, which he reportedly visits for a few weeks each year.
Dubai ruler lodges another Highland planning application
The application – lodged by the sheikh’s UK company Smech Management – states that in recent years “travel to Inverinate has been limited by lack of accommodation”.
The design statement continues: “Additional staff accommodation was completed in 2017 to create the infrastructure that would support greater use of the estate by the
owner and this new application seeks to create residential accommodation for the use of the owners, their family and their guests in order they may enjoy more frequent and extended visits to Inverinate.”
If approved, the new lodge will be constructed next to Benula Lodge which was completed in 2021.
Drawings submitted to Highland Council show that the sheik plans to build the three-storey house on an area of gravel that has “limited biodiversity”.
The home itself would have a living room longer than five double-decker buses, at 614ft square.
The house plans are for one bedroom on the ground floor, five bedrooms on the first floor and a further five on the second.
As well as a dining room, a large pantry and a conservatory there will be a staff toilet that can only be accessed from the outside of the building.
Dubai rulers plans objected to by flood experts
Highland Council’s flood risk management team have objected to the plans, saying they do not have the relevant finished floor levels (FFL) for the planned house.
Officers said they required more information.
Scottish Water did not object to the plans, but warned it could not guarantee the property could be serviced until further details were available.
There are no wastewater infrastructure near the planned home, so private treatment works were required.
There are no public comments on the application that was validated last month.
Previous controversy over sheik’s ambitious Highland plans
Previous plans lodged by Mr al-Maktoum have caused controversy among locals.
One Highland planning officer went as far as to describe previous developments as “inappropriate and insensitive”.
His plans for Ptarmigan Lodge, on the eastern edge of his estate, generated more than 30 complaints from locals because the house was just a few yards away from resident Roddy Macleod.
Highland councillors turned down the application but the decision was overturned following an appeal to the Scottish Government.
The application was approved on the condition that the sheikh’s company made a £30,000 payment towards local affordable housing.
The Maktoum family has supported the local community in the past by building a £250,000 community centre for Inverinate and Loch Duich and donating funds towards its running costs.
The sheik, reported to be one of the world’s richest men, was a friend of the late Queen.
According to the laws of Dubai, his family own all undeveloped land in the Middle Eastern country, allowing the family to prosper from real estate.
