The billionaire ruler of Dubai has claimed he did not know he needed planning permission to build a new house on his Scottish Highland estate.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 76, spared no expense with the three-storey home with 15 bedrooms, an ample living room, dining room and conservatory at Inverinate in Wester Ross.
However, the Sheikh did get planning permission for the initial plans of the building last year, though changes were made to the design since it was granted.
He is now looking to get retrospective planning permission for the additional parts of the home, which include a utility room extension, a chimney breast, a fireplace, a modified front entrance with a sandstone arch, resized windows and roof lights.
The estate sits on the protected conservation area on the banks of Loch Duich so is tightly regulated. The area is home to deer, Eurasian otters, pipistrelle bats and western European hedgehogs.
Nearby residents are up in arms about the planning blunder, with one telling The Telegraph that it ‘beggars belief that the Sheikh and his family weren’t aware of the planning permission procedure’.
They added: ‘Of course, he’s always welcome here and has been good to the local community, but surely they would be aware of our laws regarding building, especially with all the building work in recent years?’
Documents seen by the newspaper said the Sheikh’s representatives were ‘unaware planning permission was required for the amended works’.
The deluxe estate boasts three helipads and a swimming pool. Sheikh Mohammed visits once or twice a year after he bought the place more than 20 years ago.
This new 15-bed mansion is only the latest part of the major expansion the site has undergone in recent years. It is the ninth building constructed on the site and joins several other large houses that have gone up beside a new cottage, two new lodges and the helipads.
All this development has been done to accommodate guests and staff.
A planning statement submitted to the Highland council said: ‘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 a lack of accommodation. Additional staff accommodation was completed in 2022 to create infrastructure that would support greater use of the estate.’
It added: ‘The proposals do not alter the fundamental scale, use, or overall design intent of the previously approved scheme.’
Roddy Macleod, who lives next to the estate, previously said: ‘Nobody realises just how much of a massive great structure this will be. He just seems determined to keep going with this. It has been a real strain.’
It is not the first time the Sheikh has flouted planning rules, as last year he put up solar panels on the estate without permission. The council then later allowed him to keep them.
His plans for the estate often come up against opposition, as in 2020 when his proposal of a new six-bedroom lodge to be built was blocked by the Council, which sided with more than 30 objectors.
However, the Scottish Government overruled the council and the lodge was built despite local outrage.
As a concession to ease tensions, the billionaire’s property firm, Smech Management, had to pay £30,000 towards local affordable housing.
Sheikh Mohammed owns another property in the UK in Newmarket, Suffolk. Here he also wanted to built two tarmac helipads at Warren Place, a racing stables which he bought from the trainer Sir Henry Cecil in 2015.
However, this was vetoed when Anglian Water objected over concerns the development would contaminate water sources with aviation fuel.
He also owns massive estates in Essex, Surrey and Suffolk and is one of the UK’s biggest landowners.
His fortune is valued at £11billion, making him one of the richest men in the world.
The Daily Mail has contacted the Government of Dubai’s media office for a comment.
