A blueprint for the creation of a new village in the Cairngorms is to be withdrawn after a flood of objections.
Detailed proposals for An Camas Mor – proposed for a site near Aviemore – were made public last month.
But a vital document, the recreational management plan (RMP), was not submitted to Highland Council’s as it was still being finalised.
Instead, landowner Rothiemurchus Estate intended to lodge the document, which sets out how the impact on habitats would be mitigated, as a separate application.
However, following comments from the RSPB and others that about the lack of an RMP, the estate now wants to delay the planning application to allow the paperwork to be completed.
It will then resubmitted the application in its entirety, probably within the next few weeks.
The proposals are regarded as contentious because they involve the construction of a new village in the Cairngorms National Park.
The development is the subject of a legal challenge to the Supreme Court by the Cairngorm Campaign, the Scottish Campaign for National Parks and the Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation Group (BSCG).
No one from the groups could be reached for comment yesterday.
It is envisaged that An Camas Mor would be developed over the next 30 years and would eventually include about 1,500 homes, as well as businesses and community facilities.
The scheme suffered a setback earlier this year when Elgin-based Springfield Properties pulled out of the project and said it wanted to focus on other priorities.
Johnnie Grant, of An Camas Mor, said: “Everyone was very keen for the implementation masterplan and landscape and ecology method statement for An Camas Mor to be submitted as quickly as possible, with the recreational management plan to follow as a separate application.
“However, this has taken time and it is clear that it would be better to resubmit all the information together. The current application has been already been withdrawn.
“With the holiday period, resubmission is likely to take a few weeks.”
The masterplan sets out the principles that would guide the construction of the new village, as well as environmental assessments and proposals for the infrastructure needed to develop the site.
This includes main road connections, lighting and utilities.
If approved, a more detailed application would then be submitted with the designs of homes.
The development would be built in a number of phases over several decades, with about 200 houses in the first phase.