KENMORE — Plans for an 'operations village' at Taymouth Castle have been approved, promising staff accommodation, a gym and security — but, crucially, no sawmill and no biomass plant, a detail that has left some in Highland Perthshire quietly devastated.

"I'd been looking forward to that sawmill for months," said Kenmore resident and amateur woodworking enthusiast Robbie Gillies, 66. "Not to use. Just to know it was there. A man likes to fall asleep at night knowing there's a sawmill nearby."

The castle's management, according to reports, has thanked the public for its support. An estate spokesperson elaborated: "We listened to the community. They said, 'We don't want a sawmill.' Then three different men came up afterwards and said, 'Actually, I'd quite like a sawmill.' We had to make a decision."

The staff gym has proved less controversial, although some workers question its necessity. "I'll be walking up and down a 19th-century castle with nine flights of stairs carrying tablecloths," said one employee. "What exactly do they think I'll be doing in the gym? Carrying smaller tablecloths?"

Elsewhere on Loch Tay, plans for a new outdoor activity centre have also been unveiled, leading some to fear the area will become "too fun".

"First an operations village, then an activity centre," said Gillies. "Next thing you know, someone'll suggest a café that's open after four. You have to draw the line somewhere. And I'd have drawn it with a sawmill."

At press time, a small group of Kenmore residents had begun meeting in a shed to "just look at some wood together".