Proposal of Application Notice
Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, section 35B
The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2013, regulation 6
The Town and Country Planning (Pre-Application Consultation) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021
To: The Highland Council, ePlanning Centre
Reference (for office use): 26/03151/PAN
Date of notice: Monday 15 June 2026
| 1. Prospective Applicant | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Royal Dornoch Gondola Company Ltd |
| Address | Gondola House, 1 Cable Brae, Dornoch, Sutherland, IV25 3SD |
| Contact | Dr. Gary Bethune BDS (rtd.), Chief Executive Officer and Keeper of the Cableway Tradition |
| 2. Agent | |
| Name | Dustin Weeks, Weeks & Weeks (Planning, Euphemism & Notarial Services) |
| Address | 4th Floor (rear), Academy Street, Inverness, IV1 1JN |
| Note | All correspondence to the agent. The prospective applicant's CEO responds to correspondence at length and this is not always desirable. |
| 3. Description of Proposed Development | |
| Proposal | Erection and operation of a continuous mono-cable detachable gondola system of approximately 28km in length between Tain and Brora, comprising five passenger stations (Tain Interchange; Carnegie Club Halt; Dornoch Cathedral; Tee Box, mid-route; Brora Terminus), up to 214 intermediate towers, an aerial crossing of the Dornoch Firth, depot and cabin maintenance facility, ticketing infrastructure, and associated works. Safeguarded provision is made for future halts at Embo and Golspie. (Description continued on sheets 2–14, enclosed.) |
| Class of development | Major development (transport infrastructure). The prospective applicant additionally contends the development is of national significance. The planning authority did not invite this contention. |
| Screening opinion requested | No. The prospective applicant is confident. |
| 4. Site Location | |
| Location | Linear corridor from Tain (OS grid ref. approx. NH 780 821) northward across the Dornoch Firth to Brora (OS grid ref. approx. NC 905 040), Sutherland |
| Site area | Approximately 28km × the width of a gondola, plus sway allowance |
| 5. Pre-Application Consultation to be Undertaken | |
| Public event 1 | Location to be determined, Friday 11 September 2026, 6pm–8pm. Display boards, route maps, scale model of a Standard Class cabin, comment forms, pens (returnable). |
| Public event 2 (final) | Brora Community Hall, October 2026. Information will be displayed showing how feedback from the first event has been taken into account, if applicable. |
| Advertisement | Notice to be published in the Northern Times not fewer than seven days before each event, in accordance with the 2021 Regulations, maybe. |
| Feedback deadline | Friday 9 October 2026. Feedback may be submitted in writing, at rdgc.co.uk, or inscribed immutably on a permanent distributed public ledger (see enclosure: Matusik, L., "Objection as Asset Class"). |
| 6. Parties to be Consulted | |
| Community councils | Tain Community Council; Dornoch Area Community Council; Embo Community Council; Golspie Community Council; Brora Community Council. Each will receive this notice, a covering letter, and a commemorative launch-era RDGC coin (non-redeemable). |
| Other parties | Royal Dornoch Golf Club (regarding the Tee Box mid-route station, which the prospective applicant emphasises is a mid-route station and not a terminus); the Carnegie Club; Transport Scotland (courtesy); the Dornoch Gondola Singers (scheduling). |
| 7. Declaration | |
| I, the agent for the prospective applicant, hereby give notice under section 35B of the Act of the intention to submit an application for planning permission for the development described above, no sooner than twelve weeks from the date of this notice. Comments made during pre-application consultation are made to the prospective applicant and do not constitute representations to the planning authority, a sentence I did not write but greatly admire. Signed: Dustin Weeks Position: Agent; originator of the term "First Departures" (all rights reserved) Date: 15 June 2026 |
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Enclosures: sheets 2–14 (description, continued); location plan at 1:25,000; heritage note, "The Customary Law of the Firth Crossings" (Bethune, unpaginated); one (1) commemorative coin.
