Alladale's plans for wolves are off the agenda for the time being. Photo: Frank Wouters

Scotland’s mountaineering body has given a cautious welcome to the abandonment of plans to fence off a large area of the Highlands to house wolves.

The latest planning application by the Alladale Wilderness Reserve near Ardgay, on the Easter Ross-Sutherland boundary, was submitted this week and reveals plans to dismantle much of the 2m-high electrified fence that was at the centre of an access row.

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland said the application marks ‘a complete change from all the talk and promotion in the media’.

The reserve, owned by a family trust set up by MFI furniture chain heir Paul Lister and his wife Sylvia, had originally sought permission to keep wolves, wildcats and lynx alongside the European elk and wild boar that are already on the estate.

But the owners now say the controversial 173ha (427-acre) fenced enclosure that prevented walkers, climbers and mountaineers accessing the area is to be removed from their plans. The estate’s statement to Highland Council planners says: “It is proposed that the existing 2m-high fencing along the western and northern sides of the existing 173ha forest restoration experimental area will be removed, along with all the existing electric fencing attached to it, allowing free access to the ridge.”

Càrn Bàn, right. Photo: Tony Kinghorn CC-BY-SA-2.0

Hillwalkers and climbers have complained that the fencing at the site restricts their access to the countryside, including the 846m (2,772ft) corbett Càrn Bàn.

Instead of wolves, the estate intends to house wildcats, which are native to the Scottish Highlands and European bison or Wisent, found naturally in Poland and Belarus.

The MCofS said: “For now, it removes the fears of attempts to close off access to a large area of hillside. European bison, Scottish wildcat and European elk are to each be housed in three separate smaller enclosures, two of which are in the vicinity of the lodge and the third a few kilometres away but adjacent to the existing track and around an existing unused sawmill.

“We do not anticipate that any of these will have a huge extra impact on the beautiful landscape of the area, nor present a problem for access.

“To cap it all, we can welcome a statement that the fence around the 173ha enclosure, at least to the north and west, are to be removed.

“We will clarify exactly which sections of fence this involves, but we can tentatively look forward to an easing of access up the stunning ridge that offers a highway towards Càrn Bàn corbett or just a great walk offering views of the area. It will also remove the most landscape-impacting sections of this multiple electric-stranded 2m-high fence.”

However, the Alladale estate has bit completely abandoned plans for the reintroduction of wolves. Its submission to Highland Council states: “Although wolves are central to their long-term objectives on the reserve, there is no plan to keep wolves in the present enclosures.”

Doubt has been cast on the viability of keeping wolves on the estate, even though its total area is 9,300ha (23,000-acres). Wolves need large areas in the wild to provide enough prey to maintain their numbers.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act guarantees responsible access to Scotland’s countryside by walkers, climbers, cyclists and paddlers.