Plans for a small housing development in Conon Bridge have been referred to the Scottish Government because of concerns about flooding.
Members of Highland Council’s north planning committee went against advice from the authority’s own flood management team and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) when they backed the scheme in August.
Landowner Brian Elias hopes to build three detached two-bedroom homes at Riverbank Road, close to the River Conon.
But now ministers have asked to consider the plan because of the development’s “potential conflict with national policy on flooding”.
A previous plan to build a single house had been approved, but this expired just before Mr Elias bought the site at an auction in 2013.
In the interim, Sepa had revised its flood guidelines, meaning that developments had to be capable of withstanding a one-in-200-year flood, double its previous requirements.
Sepa warned that the River Conon Flood Protection Scheme has a low point near the site, which could lead to a flood risk.
Council flood scheme engineer Matt Smith told councillors that the authority had an obligation to “protect existing property from flooding, and not to allow further development”.
Mr Elias said he was “very confident” that the site would not flood.
And councillors ultimately voted 10 members to six to approve the plans.
North area planning manager Dafydd Jones had warned against the development
He said: “It’s a difficult decision and I understand why there is sympathy for the applicant.”
He added: “However, eventually the people who buy the houses will face the consequences and they won’t go back to the applicant, they’ll go to us to ask why we allowed their house to be built somewhere it might flood.”