New Cairngorms National Park community decision due

The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) is to consider a proposal to create a new community on the outskirts of Aviemore.

Park officials have recommended that the CNPA's planning committee approves the project in principle.

Rothiemurchus Estate's project would see 1,500 homes and business and community facilities built in phases at An Camas Mor, close to Coylumbridge.

The CNPA said it would be one of the "biggest developments in a generation".

The Cairngorms National Park is the largest national park in Britain.

Duncan Bryden, CNPA planning committee convener, said the proposal required a rigorous examination.

He said: "This is the largest and most complex application to come before us - indeed it is the only proposal for a new community in a UK National Park."

Objectors to the project include Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation Group.

It said the site was home to a large population of slender groundhopper, a rare invertebrate, and other species of wildlife.

The An Camas Mor project team sees the 259-acre (105-hectare) development as a solution to the area's "chronic shortage" of housing, business and community facilities.

If approved, the scheme would be built in phases and completed by 2027.