The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has lodged an objection to the proposed Clach Liath wind farm on the slopes of Ben Wyvis in Easter Ross - a project that looks set to stir up some controversy.

MCofS Director of Landscape and Access Ron Payne said:

'The sensitivity of the site and nature and scale of the proposed development means the landscape does not have the capacity to accept the proposed development. The applicant has not presented any arguments to indicate that there are material considerations to indicate otherwise and as such the application should be refused.'

'Ben Wyvis is an iconic Munro that would be permanently disfigured and damaged by such a senseless industrial development. This is the wrong place for a wind farm and the MCofS urges Highland Council to reject the application.'

The MCofS recently launched its Manifesto on Onshore Wind Farms, in which it calls for a national strategy to provide clear guidance on where wind farms will and will not be permitted, and an immediate moratorium on developments which encroach on our highest mountains, the Munros (peaks over 3,000ft) and Corbetts (2,500-3,000ft).

This latest wind farm application - which is just one of many currently in the planning system in the Highlands - demonstrates a disregard for Scotland's natural heritage among developers, say the MCofS.