Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Do it yourself By-Pass

An interesting story in the Press and Journal today:

A group of landowners has come up with a planning idea to boost the Nairn economy and solve the town’s worsening traffic congestion.
The consortium is in its infancy but an unidentified spokesman said yesterday: “We have held a meeting with Highland Council planners to outline our intentions.
Between us, we will make available land which will resolve the by-pass road issue and release land for much-needed new housing.”


Looks like the council is going to get everything gift-wrapped for them, why not let the landowners go the whole way and make it a toll-road? 50p each way? In fact I’d say give them a go at running the council? Well maybe things aren’t that bad yet.

What is even just as interesting is the fact that in searching for comment on this story the P&J quoted Simon Cole-Hamilton, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce. Obviously the P&J thinks we are part of Inverness, all that remains now is the ‘Fàilte gu Inbhir Nis’ sign to go up the other side of Auldearn.

DIY is flavour of the month, the Highland Council is again looking to Nairn River Community Council to come up with the cash to kick start the repair of the bailey bridge. Life on the community council is becoming stressful these days: the Chair Jean Tolmie told the Nairnshire this week that ‘she felt as though she had been beaten over the head with a big stick by Highland Council.’

Further along the coast in the Greater Inverness area, the ‘Green Campaigner’ Donnie MacLeod (Arderdsier) suggests that the new developments should use ‘revolutionary thinking’.
‘We could actually be quite innovative in terms of what infrastructure would be required, such as monorail links from Whiteness Head through Arderseir, up into the new town and up through Culloden.’
Sin thu fhèin Donnie, how about a branch line out to poor old neglected Nairn too; then you could jump on it with a step ladder and a sharp knife and take down the Green Party sign that is still adorning the High Street from the time of the General Election.

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