Bosses at a Highland estate have revealed plans for a £5million refurbishment.
The owners of Balavil Estate near Kingussie want to open a farm shop, visitor centre and events complex which they say will be open for community use.
The estate has been described as the “jewel in the crown” of Scottish sporting estates, sitting on land running from the River Spey into the Monadhliath mountains.
The mansion house was made famous on the television programme Monarch of the Glen as Kilwillie Castle.
But the £5million refurbishment will focus on the farm buildings Mains of Balavil which have been falling into disrepair for decades.
The estate’s current owners Eric and Hannah Heerema want to create facilities within the B-listed farm buildings which would be of use for guests using the land for sporting purposes as well as function space which would be available for community use.
It could also include a shop selling produce from the estate
However, the scheme has received criticism from Aviemore and Kingussie community councils objecting because of concerns about the impacts on existing local businesses.
A public consultation was recently held on the estate, with more than 300 people taking the chance to see around the land and the current work on site, including the pedigree livestock being farmed there.
Restoration manager George Pirie said that visitors had been “very positive” about what they had seen.
He said: “First and foremost this is a working estate and everything we do is based around enhancing what we offer.
“Part of that is having a commercial element to help bring the estate.”
A planning application for the refurbishment is currently live.
The current owners acquired Balavil for an undisclosed fee in 2015.
Mrs Heerema is the daughter of singer Fiona Kennedy and businessman Francis Clark.
The estate had never been on the market before and had been in the Macpherson family since 1790.
