Pages

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Liz: "just to let you know we’ve not forgotten about the bypass"

At the joint Community Council meeting tonight (Wednesday) in the URC hall a couple of high heid yins from the Highland Council planning department were taking soundings on South Nairn from the councils followed by a question and answer session for members of the public. Very interesting it was too and we hope to bring you snippets from the highly charged, but calm, debate over the next few days. For tonight however, here’s something interesting that Liz said during the proceedings:

“I’d like to come in just about the by-pass issue. I’d said to Iain Ramage when he interviewed me last week about the development. He said: “Could it be possible that the development may start before the bypass is there?” And you know, anything is possible but, however, our TECS officers are going down tomorrow to speak in Edinburgh about the bypass. So hopefully in the next week or so I will be able to report back an update from that. But just to let you know we’ve not forgotten about the bypass, we’re still trying to pursue it but the bottom line is I can’t promise people there will be a bypass before the development starts. I just wanted to make that clear because the headlines were we’ve forgotten all about the bypass or whatever it was. That’s not the case at all. We’re still pushing for it, it’s still very important for the town and, just to clear that up and our officers are meeting tomorrow down in Edinburgh with Transport Scotland.”

This week the article Liz refers to appears on the front page of the Nairnshire and is entitled “Long wait for the bypass.” Surprise anyone? The article also quotes comment from Michael Green who is concerned that the infrastructure is not there to enable South Nairn to go ahead. Michael’s view is shared by the town’s three Community Councils and their views were laid out in front of the planners tonight. More about that in future articles this week. Liz was perhaps stung by the paper’s editorial more than anything that emerged on the front page. Iain Bain titled his latest hebdominal musings  “Bypass off the boil” and he began:

“It is disappointing that Nairn Provost Liz MacDonald now considers that Nairn’s bypass project may not take place until housing development including south Nairn is on the ground. It is perhaps a measure of how priorities are changing in the SNP dominated Highland Council and Scottish Government.”

In response to that Liz obviously wanted to lay out her stall and state that the bypass is still very much on her agenda. Iain Bain went on to state in his editorial that it “had become almost an axiom of local development – that there should be no substantial development until a bypass was in existence or at least very definitely in plan.”

As we stated above the  three Community Councils earlier tonight said they didn't want development until there is a bypass but against a possible appeal one day by a developer, who might have been turned down on those grounds, would that be a viable position to take? The planners didn't seem to think so tonight - again more on that later this week.

14 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:36 AM

    At the very least, before any development goes ahead at Nairn South, major improvements need to be carried out to Cawdor Road, especially the Railway Brae area. With the increase of traffic now coming from the doctors surgery plus additional traffic from any developements there are going to be severe problems in the future in this area.

    ReplyDelete
  2. There is a school of thought emerging in official circles that feels that traffic lights may be the solution here.
    Again we'll get round to this if time permits.

    ReplyDelete
  3. lamplighter11:35 AM

    Yes Graisg. Perversely, the official planners or their advisers suggest that the way to deal with a major increase in traffic flow along narrow streets and through the underpass is to install more obstructions: narrow the road, widen the pavement, put in lights and build traffic calming measures (chicanes or humps).

    How that will ease or improve the smooth flow of traffic, ensure swift access to the hospital for emergencies, and avoid tailbacks is um, not immediately obvious.....

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you Lamplighter - it all has to be digested with the aid of details of the conversation between Malcolm MacLeod and Brian Stewart about how the traffic model used initially in all this originated.
    Hopefully we will cover some of this but please don't forget to reserve your copy of the Leopold Street Thunderer next Tuesday! They will no doubt be examining the issues debated last night.

    ReplyDelete
  5. http://www.highland.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/DB124322-CC8C-4A8B-BA72-CF9617CDBFA5/0/HighlandwideLocalDevelopmentPlanFinalReportbyScottishMinisters20December2011.pdf

    I strongly urge those with any concerns about any element of proposals for Nairn South to read/remind themselves of the detailed analysis of the Reporter with respect to 'Issue 18 Nairn South' at the link about. The need for a bypass is covered as is the need for other potential modifications to the road network.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous1:30 PM

    Has anyone discussed the effects for some Nairn businesses if and when we get the bypass?

    It might mean a better quality of life for those who live near the A96, but it will also mean less traffic stopping in the town to buy something or even find somewhere to stay?

    Will Nairn become a ghost town of it's former self?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous1:46 PM

    South Side Development.
    O dear if we are to wait for a bypass the development is along way away. Also do the complainers understand what a by pass is?? it is not a commutator road it will BY PASS the town for through traffic and go no where the development. Yes improvements need to be made but trying to stop the development of the aria will not solve the problem but going ahead WILL and give much needed work to all trades increase spending in the town.It makes me wonder if any of the objectors know that one of the first things that take place on any building sight is for services to be put in place and then the buildings. So lets get men into work and create houses for those who need them

    ReplyDelete
  8. As far as I am aware there is a great deal of land currently available for building, most with permission, where men - and surely women also - could 'get to work'.

    In Nairn there is a development brief for Sandown. There's permission for all sorts of development on a huge site at Delnies. And is there not land at Lochloy still?

    At Ardersier there has been outline permission for around 1950 dwellings since 2006 and nothing as yet has come of the plans.

    Near to the tiny hamlet of Tornagrain there is now OPP for a settlement of around 5000 dwellings, with detailed planning expected in the not too distant future (?)for a part first phase.

    Just to the East of Inverness there is Outline permission was a large development (2,500? units); where around 300 units could be built before the schools would need to expand.

    Then, of course, there is the building work that is going on at the Uni and all the planned work on the roads in the area.

    The SAC are relocating to Beechwood Campus and will be selling their old Inverness site (which will be freed up for residential building as far as I understand)

    Lots more sites are planned through the Inner Moray Firth.

    And let us not forget the that there is permission for a huge business park site at the airport where the B park is to be built out over a period to 2060!

    The issue is not lack of land (or allocation of sites) as far as I can see but whether or not enough people are in a position to buy what is built, at the prices charged, in enough numbers to fund the provision of 'affordable' housing.

    Google is playing up at the moment so I cannot get hold of relevant links.

    Yes and of course its is swings and roundabouts with a bypass.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Please see item

    'Bovis Adds to Housebulding Optimism.'

    At link:

    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a417cba6-6141-11e2-957e-00144feab49a.html#axzz2IuMEyQeb

    Article reports on house builders profits boosted by sale of homes on land bought at knock down prices and talks of them building more lucrative family homes with focus on more resiliant London and South East market. Operating profit margins up from 11% to 13.5%.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous8:39 PM

    It always amuses me when someone cites the number of jobs which will be created when it comes to these type of developments. Let's be realistic, these are short term jobs which, very often, don't go to local people but to workers brought in by the, very often, outside contractors.

    ReplyDelete
  11. john gallagher9:20 PM

    i always found that if someone felt strongly enough about something why would they hide behind anonymity hence i never read them or give them any credence john gallagher fishertown

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lord Lucan10:03 PM

    It's a bit hard to know who's who on the world wide web John, and the Gurn has allowed anonymous comments for many years.

    Some names you see on here may be real, they may not, and others just use the anonymous identity because it suits

    People freely express their views here, debate sometimes happens, and we can all express ourselves 24/7 unlike a newspaper - brilliant

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh for christ's sake lighten up you lot. How bad can it be? It's all relative you know. I was quite chirpy, now feel like my stilettos are sinking into the quaggy quagmire. P XX

    ReplyDelete
  14. sunken heal7:57 AM

    Can you get different types of quagmire other than quaggy ones then?

    ReplyDelete