SSE and the John Muir Trust (JMT) have reached a settlement in relation to court expenses incurred due to a dispute over a planned wind farm in the Highlands.

In July last year, the Court of Session overturned a previous decision to halt development of the 67-turbine Stronelairg wind farm in the Monadhliath Mountains near Inverness.

As a result, the John Muir Trust ended its legal action against the project, stating the legal battle against the development had consumed a "significant amount of time and money".

SSE then began the process of pursuing £350,000 in court costs' settlements from the Trust. However, the JMT has agreed to pay £50,000 in final settlement for the legal case.

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The charity said: "This agreement, combined with the £75,000 agreed with the Scottish Government last month, ends our liability for the Stronelairg legal case. The Trust is extremely grateful to our legal team who supported us throughout and minimised their costs where possible.

"This is a positive outcome, and we are grateful to the many supporters of our Stronelairg campaign, who have enabled us to meet all of the legal costs from our existing campaign funds."

SSE said it would pass on the full settlement to Visit Inverness Loch Ness, a not for profit organisation in the Great Glen. The funds will be used to contribute towards the South Loch Ness Trail, which is a project to complete a walking and cycling trail round the whole of Loch Ness.

Paul Cooley, SSE Director of Generation Development, said: "We are pleased to reach a reasonable conclusion with the John Muir Trust on the issue of expenses for the Judicial Review process. We are also happy to be able to gift those funds to the excellent South Loch Ness Trail project which will allow many members of the local community and tourists alike to enjoy all the Loch has to offer for years to come."

SSE added construction work on the Stronelairg wind farm is progressing well and the project is expected to be complete by October 2018.

(LM)