Prospective development partner clarifies intention for Embo Masterplan Consent Area
The Highland Council has invited residents to share their views on a possible proposal for a Masterplan Consent Area (MCA) Scheme at Embo.
MCAs are a legal planning tool that enable advance consent for large development sites, significantly reducing the time it takes to deliver housing and infrastructure.
The proposal was initially described as a phased residential development of up to 150 dwellings on land adjacent to Embo, comprising a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced housing types including affordable homes, together with biodiversity enhancement, landscaping, community woodland, amenity open space, food growing area and associated infrastructure. The prospective developer is Coul Enterprises.
However, Edward Abel Smith of Coul Enterprises has issued a letter of clarification on the development intentions for this MCA at Embo. The letter states “our current working proposal … is for a much smaller, phased development in the region of 50 homes, delivered over time in a way that respects the character and scale of the village. This figure is not fixed and will be informed by community feedback, infrastructure capacity, and detailed design work, but it reflects the scale of development we are actively planning for at this stage.” The full letter can be read here.
Chair of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Ken Gowans said: ‘The Council welcomes the prospective developer’s clarification of the intended scale of the proposal at Embo. I encourage everyone with a view to attend the scheduled local events. Later this year we look forward to considering all the comments submitted at a meeting of our Economy and Infrastructure Committee.”
Public engagement events will be held in Embo to provide community with the opportunity to give feedback on the principle of development for a possible MCA in Embo. The first event will be on Thursday 29 January at The Old School, School Street, Embo.
Members of the public are invited to an informal drop-in session from 3pm to 5pm, followed by an evening informal drop-in session from 6pm to 7:30pm when Council officials and the prospective developer will be available to listen to local views. The Council’s previous press release advertised a round-table discussion in the evening, which is no longer proposed at this initial stage.
Comments can be submitted by email to MCA@highland.gov.uk, via an online form, at the event via paper forms, or verbally during discussions. The first deadline for feedback is 13 February 2026, with a final deadline of 31 March 2026.
A second public event is scheduled to take place in the same venue on 5 March 2026.
Further details, including maps and background information, are available on the Plan Delivery page of the Highland Council website. Information prepared by Council officers that will be presented at this event will be available on the website in advance of the first event.