Ambitions plans for farm

Cash from the Scottish Land Fund will support a charity turn a bull stud into a 145-plot allotment in Inverness.

Knocknagael Ltd is in the final stages of taking over about 20 acres (8 ha) of land on a Scottish government-owned bull stud on the south side of the city.

The bulls are hired out to crofters across the Highlands and Western Isles.

Planning permission sought by the charity also includes a community gathering space, car park, walkways and a wildflower meadow.

The charity, which has secured support from the Scottish Land Fund for its purchase, has submitted a planning application to Highland Council.

The bull stud scheme at Knocknagael dates back to Victorian times.

Plans for the community bid for an area of land called the Smiddy Field were first made in 2015 after it was deemed at the time to be surplus to requirements.

There were local concerns the land would be developed for housing and lost as a community asset.

Rural Payments Inspectorate Division (RPID), an arm of the Scottish Government, initially refused an asset transfer request because it said the land was needed for growing winter food, such as barley, hay or silage, for the bulls.

It said losing the field would mean sourcing alternative feed, leading to an increase to the farm's running costs which would be passed on to the crofters.