A Scottish Government-appointed planning reporter granted permission for the properties in 2014, however, following a change in ownership of the site, local councillors were asked to approve a new design and layout of the homes at Viewhill, near Inverness.

The Highland Council then deferred a decision on the application to allow developer Kirkwood Homes to ensure the house designs “better reflect the Highland context and conservation”.

The local authority’s south planning applications committee has now voted in favour of granting planning permission.

A campaign set up to protect the area argue that the land forms part of the historic Culloden Battlefield site and had hoped the committee would give archaeologists a chance to examine the location before making a decision.

The site is about half a mile from the location of the battle, fought between Jacobite and government forces in April 1746, and the Group to Stop Development at Culloden have argued that the fighting took place in a much wider area than what is regarded as the battle’s location.