A £2.5m police firing range has been opened near the Dounreay nuclear site in Caithness.
But when the firing range is no longer needed, it will be demolished and the land reinstated and made available for agricultural use.
The eight-lane 164ft-long range is for Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers who guard Dounreay, which is in the process of being closed down and cleaned up in a £1.6bn project.
Highland Council gave Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) planning permission for the range in May last year.
The cost of the new firearms training range soared by over half-a-million pounds after DSRL was forced to move to a new location after its preferred option of using ground at Forss fell through.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which is bankrolling the scheme, instead went ahead on land it owns at Dounreay.
The range has an estimated 10-year lifespan to meet the proposed end date for the decommissioning of 2023 by Babcock Dounreay Partnership, but will be operational for as long as the CNC require it.
A spokeswoman for Dounreay said the firing range was “a significant step forward” for the CNC, who had previously had to send officers south for annual firearms training that complied with the necessary requirements.
“Not only will this be a significant cost saving to taxpayers but it also ensures CNC can maintain an effective operational response in accordance with their statutory obligations to protect the site,” she said.