'Significant progress' on Flow Country Unesco bid
At a glance
Unesco World Heritage status is to be sought for the Highland's Flow Country.
Covering large parts of Caithness and Sutherland, the Flow Country is estimated to extend to 494,210 acres (200,000ha) and is more than twice the size of Orkney.
Highland Council says significant progress has been made on a draft boundary for the Unesco site.
Further community consultation on the plans is also to be held.
- Published
Significant progress has been made on a draft boundary for a proposed Flow Country Unesco World Heritage site, according to Highland Council officials.
The local authority is involved in making a bid for the status for the vast area of peatbog, lochs and bog pools in the north Highlands.
Covering large parts of Caithness and Sutherland, the Flow Country is estimated to extend to 494,210 acres (200,000ha) and is more than twice the size of Orkney.
A detailed bid must be submitted to Unesco by late next year, with a final decision expected in 2024.
In a report to Monday's Sutherland county committee, council officers said the draft boundary was now undergoing a peer review.
They also said the next step in the process was further public consultation with communities in and around the site.
The UK government approved plans for a bid for World Heritage status for the Flow Country last year.
Scotland currently has six World Heritage sites.
They are the Antonine Wall, Heart of Neolithic Orkney, New Lanark, the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, St Kilda and the Forth Bridge.