Glengarry Viewpoint Visitor Centre
A world-class Highland view
Community Consultation
Welcome to our consultation website.
Here you can find the latest information on proposals by Mars Commercial Property Holdings Ltd, part of the Mars and Black Sheep group of companies, for a visitor centre, café, shop, and associated car and coach parking on land at the iconic Glengarry Viewpoint.
The Viewpoint is a nationally recognised scenic stop on the A87, located west of Invergarry village, on the road to Skye and Eilean Donan Castle, where Loch Garry below appears to take the outline shape of mainland Scotland.
Covering 3.32 hectares, the Glengarry Viewpoint Visitor Centre development will restore the famous national viewpoint and provide high-quality, safe and well-managed visitor facilities.
The scale of investment, amounting to some £20 million, is one of the most significant tourism and leisure investments in Scotland in recent years and will generate substantial benefits for local communities and the wider economy.
Since 2017, the Mars and Black Sheep group of companies has invested more than £75 million in the hospitality sector in the Highlands, employing more than 170 people, making it one of the largest investors and employers in the Lochaber and wider Highland area.
This development forms part of a wider programme of sustained tourism investment by the Mars and Black Sheep group of companies across the Highlands.
Glengarry Viewpoint
Where?
Glengarry Community Hall, Invergarry, PH35 4HG
When?
Thursday 25th, June 2026. Between 3.30pm and 6.30pm
Please feel free to come along and meet the representatives of the prospective applicants and members of the design team, who can answer any questions you may have. There will also be the opportunity to provide feedback on the updated proposals.
Site Location
Location plan
Proposed Development
The proposed Glengarry Viewpoint Visitor Centre will transform the visitor experience at one of Scotland’s most celebrated landscapes, providing high-quality facilities while restoring and protecting this nationally important destination.
In recent years, commercial forestry planted by a previous landowner has obscured the iconic view over Loch Garry, diminishing the experience for visitors and affecting the local tourism economy. At the same time, informal roadside parking has created safety concerns, congestion, littering and a lack of basic visitor amenities.
Designed to sit discreetly within the landscape, the new Visitor Centre will provide safe, managed parking alongside a café, shop, toilets and visitor services. A dedicated retail space will also showcase and support local artisans, producers and businesses.
As part of the proposals, the existing lay-by will be removed and restored to a grass verge, encouraging visitors to use the purpose-built car park and significantly improving road safety. The removal of trees currently blocking the view will once again reveal the breathtaking panorama of Loch Garry, allowing visitors and passing travellers to enjoy one of Scotland’s most iconic vistas.
The Glengarry Viewpoint Visitor Centre will restore a nationally important landscape asset while delivering the high-quality infrastructure expected of a world-class visitor destination.
Similar in scale and purpose to successful visitor facilities at the Old Man of Storr and Corrieshalloch Gorge, the development directly supports the Scottish Government’s and The Highland Council’s ambitions to enhance visitor infrastructure and strengthen sustainable tourism across the Highlands and Scotland.
The Visitor Centre will:
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Restore the iconic viewpoint through managed tree felling
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Provide a sensitively designed visitor centre, café and other facilities
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Deliver safe, formalised parking for cars and buses
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Provide high-quality toilet and service facilities.
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Improve traffic and visitor management along the A87 corridor.
Site plan
Viewpoints in the Surrounding Area
The site of Glengarry is located in the proximity of the following Viewpoints highlighted in the map diagram.
Viewpoints in the area surrounding Glengarry viewpoint are solely viewpoints.
Going further north there are a wide range of viewpoints and facilities, however, the majority are basic and offer no amenities such as cafés and toilets.
Planning History
A previous planning application for the visitor centre development was submitted to The Highland Council in August 2025 (Planning Reference No. 25/03188/FUL).
Following detailed consideration of a localised water supply and related drainage issue, very recently raised in correspondence during the application process, the decision was taken to withdraw the current planning application in May 2026.
This necessitated a material change to the red-line site boundary associated with the proposals to satisfactorily address these matters.
Around the same time, the applicant’s project team were made aware, somewhat surprisingly, that The Highland Council intended recommending refusal of the proposals for several reasons.
The new planning application affords the applicant and its project team the opportunity to fully address these concerns in detail
Artist’s impression of the proposed Visitor Centre
A Policy-Compliant Development
There is a strong and consistent framework of support for carefully planned tourism investment at the national and local levels that delivers economic, environmental and community benefits.
Nationally, these include National Planning Framework 4, the National Strategy for Economic Transformation and Scotland Outlook 2030.
Regionally, the Highlands and Islands Regional Economic Strategy, the Inverness and Highland City Region Deal and the Highland Sustainable Tourism Strategy 2024–2034 reinforce these themes.
The national, regional, and local development plan’s policy frameworks collectively provide robust strategic justification for the proposed development.
Benefits of the Development
As one of the most significant tourism and leisure investments in recent years in Scotland, with a direct investment of approximately £20 million, Glengarry Viewpoint Visitor Centre will generate substantial benefits both locally and nationally.
Artist’s impression of the proposed Visitor Centre
These include:
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Employment: In addition to jobs created during the construction period, the centre will employ up to 50 people on site, a figure predicted to increase over time and significant for a rural area.
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Road safety: Enhancing road safety through reducing unmanaged stopping on the A87.
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Manage visitor pressures: Managing current littering and fouling through the provision of high-quality facilities.
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Local economy: Increasing spending with Highland retailers and service providers, as well as in other attractions within the area.
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Supply chain: Supporting communities through the procurement of both services and products locally, aiding local businesses through the generation of supply chain opportunities.
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Skills and training: Providing career opportunities for the local community and the broader tourist industry in Scotland through training and education. These include apprenticeships and onsite training programmes.
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Tourism growth: Strengthening the area’s tourism profile and visitor experience, aligning investment with both local economic and tourism strategies.
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Infrastructure and environment: Improving local road infrastructure, as well as delivering environmental benefits through enhancing biodiversity.
Have Your Say
The Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) process offers you the opportunity to learn more about the proposals and to provide valuable feedback and suggestions.
This second public consultation event follows the first, held on Thursday, 11th June 2026, and will present updated proposals and highlight key issues raised and their responses. There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the project team and further shape the proposals by providing comments and feedback.
Your comments and feedback are important and will be taken into consideration as the scheme is developed, helping to refine the proposals before the new planning application is formally submitted to The Highland Council.
Where?
Glengarry Community Hall, Invergarry, PH35 4HG
When?
Thursday, 25th June 2026. Between 3.30pm and 6.30pm
Consultation boards for this event will be uploaded at 9am on Thursday, 25th June 2026.
You may make comments on the proposals at this event via the available feedback questionnaire form or through this website using the feedback form, or by writing directly to Farningham Planning Ltd, Daldownie, Borelick, Dunkeld, PH8 0BX or by email to alan.farningham@farnmac.co.uk.
The deadline for feedback for this second public consultation event is Monday, 20th July 2026.
Please note that comments submitted at this stage do not constitute representations to The Highland Council as the planning authority. An opportunity to make representations to The Highland Council will be available following formal submission of the planning application, when neighbour notification and publicity will be undertaken at that time.
Feedback Form
Next Steps
Subject to completion of the Pre-Application Consultation (PAC) process and further discussions with The Highland Council and other stakeholders, it is proposed to submit a new amended planning application at the end of August 2026.
This new application will be accompanied by supporting information covering a variety of topics including a landscape and visual impact assessment, photomontages, a design statement, transport assessment, peat assessment, planning policy appraisal, water and drainage strategy, construction method statement, socio-economic assessment, and ecological and biodiversity assessments.
Included in this package of supporting information will be a PAC report confirming that community consultation has taken place and outlining how any feedback received has been taken into consideration in the final proposals. This is a statutory requirement for the validation of the planning application.
About Us
Mars Commercial Property Holdings Ltd is part of the Mars and Black Sheep group of companies.
The group is a significant investor and operator in tourism in the Highlands. These include a number of very successful hotels – The Whispering Pine Lodge at Spean Bridge, The Cluanie Inn at Glenmoriston, Rokeby Manor at Invergarry and the recently opened Ambassador Hotel in Inverness.
Additionally, it operates self-catering apartments at St Andrew’s House in Fort William and pizzerias in Fort William and Inverness.
Black Sheep Adventures offers a range of outdoor experiences, from farm visits at Halcyon Farm, bordering Loch Garry, to fishing, hiking, and clay-pigeon shooting.
Since 2017, the Mars and Black Sheep group has invested more than £75 million in the hospitality sector in the Highlands, employing more than 170 people, making it one of the largest investors and employers in the Lochaber and wider Highland area.
With several new projects scheduled to open in 2026, total investment is expected to exceed £100 million and employment to rise to more than 270 posts, demonstrating a long-term commitment to the regional visitor economy.
The Glengarry Viewpoint Visitor Centre forms the next phase of this investment programme.
Ambassador Hotel in Inverness
The Whispering Pine Lodge outside Spean Bridge
Contact Us
For further information, please:
Email: alan.farningham@farnmac.co.uk
Post: Farningham Planning Ltd, Daldownie, Borelick, Dunkeld, PH8 0BX