Plans have been lodged for the next phase of a housing development in the south-western outskirts of Inverness.

Developer Barratt North Scotland is seeking permission to build 137 family and affordable homes at the Ness Castle site in the city’s Torbreck area.

The scheme will form part of the second phase of a new community at Ness Castle which could feature close to 1,000 homes when completed.

An application lodged with local authority this week covers about 13 acres of the 108-acre site earmarked for development.

Documents submitted with the plans propose a mixture of detached and semi-detached housing in the new neighbourhood.

Douglas McLeod, regional managing director for Barratt Developments in Scotland, said the new project demonstrated the success of the Ness Castle development.

“Our new planning application for Ness Castle represents an update to our original plan for the site,” he told the Press & Journal.

“This new build phase will provide 137 new homes suited to first-time buyers, families and affordable occupation, all built to Barratt Homes’ exacting five star quality standards.

“Our progression into this new area of the site also represents the continued success of Ness Castle as well as its popularity as a top residential location in the Highland capital.”

Highland Council has highlighted the need for a new primary school in the area to accommodate residents, and a site has been reserved for the facility, with the developers expected to contribute to the building costs.

Initial plans for a 984-home estate at Ness Castle were approved by councillors in 2009 but the scheme stalled until the first 276-home phase was launched in 2011/12.

In 2015, Barratt Homes revealed it planned to build 350 homes at the development site, and last summer work began on 51 affordable Albyn Housing Society homes, backed by a Scottish Government grant.