Tall and modern and in Nairn

This building situated in the Firhall housing scheme is four storeys high and is bordered with mature trees at the side and rear. Obviously it is quite adequate accommodation for the inhabitants. What would happen if plans for similar came in for a town centre location however,would it receive the ceremonial two-fingers from the statutory consultees? Just a thought.

Meanwhile River CC tonight will discuss the amended proposals for the bus station site over at the Community Centre.

One wonders...

...how the building pictured below might have been received by West Community Council and NICE if the planning application were to arrive on the Glenurquahart Rd mat today. We live in a time where planning issues are to the fore and a tall building proposed for the bus station has had a knock back from the two groups mentioned above. In an age where there is no shortage of self-appointed arbiters of architectural good taste in Nairn (witness Nairnbairn's carbuncle nomination) perhaps it is worth reflecting on another tall building in the town: 12 years on and the Marine Road apartments are very much part of the landscape.

The Marine Road appartments under construction in the summer of 1999.

Development in recent times

More pictures from Tommy here of sites that have been developed in recent times. Individual images here.

More way back when

Thanks to Tommy for these two interesting pictures. If the bus station application goes ahead and the flats get built it wouldn't be the first time that flats were built on a garage site in Nairn. Just across the river from this eventual development site the controversial Maggot Flats were also built on a former garage. It is interesting to note the lack of tree cover on the east bank of the river in these two images, they will enlarge a little.

UPDATE: The images published above have prompted Joe Telfer to send the Gurn a picture of the new building just prior to completion. Interesting comments coming in too.

Rosebank Church flats go ahead

Thanks to Jingle Bangles who reports that the conversion of Rosebank Church into 9 flats has been given the go-ahead. You can see the permission document and conditions here.

Flats or more flats for Nairn town centre - Highland Council Plan B options not going down well

"Aux armes citoyens!"

There will be a special Ward Forum meeting to discuss Highland Council’s Plan B options for the town centre on 6th October in the Courthouse at 7 p.m. Hat-tip to APT. We detect strong stirrings out there amongst our unreliable sources and some of the more reliable ones too. One wonders if the Courthouse will be big enough as word of the meeting and the mood of discontent spreads.
Iain Bain sums it up well and once again we unashamedly steal from one of his powerful editorials:

'The plans to build flats on the council owned sites are about as unimaginative as you can get and they offer nothing for the town centre. To ask people to choose between the the two near identical options is an insult to their intelligence...'

Well said Iain I’m sure many of those who dwell in Gurnshire will agree with that sentiment. We urge all who browse here to avail themselves of this week’s Nairnshire editorial. Mr Bain seems to have his finger on the pulse on this one.
Liz is on the march too, she is quoted in the Courier today:

‘It is important to take our time and get the right plan for Nairn.’ She also questioned how the development would be paid for, stressing Nairn Common Good Fund should not be part of the deal.

The Courier also spoke to Graham Marsden, he’s obviously sensed that an uprising is in the wind and realises that there is a strong lobby building against housing in this area:
“They would like to see it as a cleared area, with some car parking, but trees, making it into something worthwhile for the town centre,” he said.

That’s it then folks, if we want Nairn to decide what is good for the town centre and not Highland Council, we have to get along to that ward forum meeting on the 6th and let our feelings be known. The previous plans devised by Highland Council came to nothing after nearly 15 years of pain for no gain, now it is time for the people to speak - let's not let HC take control of proceedings any longer - we deserve a better town centre than the present Plan B proposes!

If you can’t make to the meeting you can submit your questions/statements via this Highland Council webpage (thanks again to APT for this link)

Houses for the old Community Centre?

Could it go the same way as the proposed plans for Rosebank Church with flats and parking underneath? Housing for the old Community Centre as a solution to the Co-op fearties losing their bottle and dropping the major development in the town centre seems to be one way out of the mess. Either way it is the end of a dream as the row of buildings still stand there rotting away in the middle of Trip Advisor’s No2 ‘up and coming’ destination. The Courier today has an article and editorial on Nairn’s major town centre problem. They’ve spoken to Liz and she mentions the housing solution. It also seems a report is in the offing too:
‘Nairn members met yesterday morning to discuss how to take forward the redevelopment of the town centre. A report setting out recommendations for the future consultation on the regeneration of the area is set to go before the planning, environment and development committee on 22nd September.’
Reports, committees and consultation – haven’t we had about 15 years of that as far as the town centre is concerned? Why not save money and put a suggestion box in the Courthouse?
In their editorial ‘Think Big’ (not on line yet) the bi-weekly organ of the Highland Capital also preoccupies itself with Nairn’s woes, the paper makes a plea to the council not to rush in with housing however, they suggest:
‘While we agree that the eyesores cannot be left to deteriorate for much longer, we would urge the local authority to make one last attempt to market the whole site nationally and internationally in the hope of attracting a striking development that would benefit the town economically.’
A view from afar that really doesn’t understand the situation on the ground, the present miserable condition of that part of the town centre has been due to waiting, waiting, waiting for a white knight to come dashing onto the scene and sort it all out for us. The Council no longer owns the whole site anyway. If there are to be any solutions this observer suspects there are not national or international white knights waiting in the sidings, solutions will have to be locally inspired ones. Have Gurnites got any genuine ideas to sort this wee problem?

Rosebank Church - 9 flats for 'low income/starters and downsizers'?

An application that seems to have already ticked a few boxes and found favour within Highland Council is the plan for the Rosebank Church to be converted into 9 flats. Here's the final paragraph of a supporting document submitted to the Council.

'Nairn has great communications and is not only sustainable but a chance to adaptively reuse and renew a well loved part of Nairn’s heritage. The building is in great need of extensive repairs and by making it economically viable to renew and upkeep its future will be guaranteed, and low income/starters and downsizers have a much needed option rather than the usual developers unsustainable, unaffordable new town that threaten the farm and greenbelts, and further undermine the town and city centres. Many other aspects of the proposal is sustainable and simple additions like rainwater barrels at rainwater leaders can be pointed to but the main bonuses of this renewal is the historic preservation, the densification and affordable accommodation it provides, within a sustainable development. '

The document then outlines the support from within Highland Council:'Kerry Barnett (Conservation Architect) at the conservation department of the Highland Council as well as planner Jim Harbison (in the Inverness area office) and both have been very supportive of the approach. '

It could be that a use has finally been found for the derelict Church? You can view all the documents and plans connected with this application here.