Dubai ruler Sheikh al-Maktoum plans to add 11-bedroom mansion to colossal Highland estate

The site already includes two large homes and a 16-bed hunting lodge.

One of the world’s richest men has submitted plans to build an eleven-bedroom home on his 63,000 acre estate in the Highlands, it has been reported.

Sheikh al-Maktoum, who counted the late Queen among his friends, is the owner of Inverinate Estate in Wester Ross.

The site already includes two large homes and a 16-bed hunting lodge, and permission for an extension to one of the homes was reportedly signed off last month.

Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum is vice-president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and ruler of the Emirate of Dubai (Picture: Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images)

The new lodging, if approved, will be constructed next to the 17-bed Benula Lodge, which was completed in 2021, according to Highland Council documents seen by the Mail on Sunday.

Technical drawings reveal the three-story house would include a 57 square metre living room and a ground floor bedroom, with five bedrooms on the first floor and a further five on the second.

Other features are said to include a dining room, pantry and a conservatory - as well as a staff toilet that can only be accessed from the outside of the building.

Despite the multiple large homes on the estate, it has been reported agents acting for the sheikh's UK company Smech Management said his time at Inverinate Estate has been ‘limited by lack of accommodation.’

The full comment, reported in the Mail on Sunday, reads: “The owners of Inverinate Estate typically travel in large groups of immediate and extended family and friends.

"In recent years their travel to Inverinate has been limited by lack of accommodation.

“Additional staff accommodation was completed in 2017 to create infrastructure that would support greater use of the estate by the owner.

“This new application seeks to create residential accommodation for the use of the owners, their family and their guests in order they may enjoy more frequent and extended visits to Inverinate.”

The Sheikh, who was embroiled in a scandal over the alleged detention of his daughter Princess Latifa, has drawn criticism from neighbouring residents over his development pursuits in the past, with some planning officers describing his designs as “inappropriate and insensitive” in the picturesque surroundings.

His plans for Ptarmigan Lodge, on the eastern edge of his estate, saw more than 30 complaints from locals because the house was just 20 metres away from resident Roddy Macleod.

Highland councillors turned down the application but the decision was overturned following an appeal to the Scottish Government.

Mr Macleod’s daughter, Tina, at the time, said: “It feels that if you are rich and powerful in Scotland, you can do what you want. It is very worrying for the future of the Highlands.”

The Maktoum family has, however, been noted for their contributions to the local community, including building a £250,000 Inverinate and Loch Duich Community Centre and donating funds towards its running costs.

Reports of the Sheikh’s newly-submitted plans come just weeks before the Scottish Government is poised to publish its long-awaited Land Reform Bill.

The paper is set to tackle the concerns about the concentrated pattern of land ownership in rural areas of Scotland, the responsibilities of landowners and improve transparency around who benefits from public funding.

It was due to be published by the end of 2023 but has been delayed into the new year.

This has been due to “a sheer number and variety of responses” to the Bill’s consultation – around 500 plus – which ministers said they want to have more time to consider.