MSP worried over removal of road kill - cites dead badger by side of A96 at Auldearn as example

Highlands & Islands Regional MSP and road safety campaigner, David Stewart contacts Transport Scotland to ascertain policy on the removal of road kill by operating companies on trunk routes.

David Stewart said “ I have been contacted by a constituent who has advised that there has been a dead badger on the side of the A96 Auldearn bypass for two weeks now. This is not the first time I have received such contacts. I have previously been advised of dead deer on the verges between Inverness and Nairn. I assumed that the operating company, in this case Bear Scotland, had a responsibility to remove these carcasses within a set period, as part of their contract. I have written to Transport Scotland today to ask this question and ascertain with which body this responsibility lies.

“Considering the operating companies travel along out trunk routes daily, I am surprised that no action is being taken.

“ Of course it is upsetting for animal lovers to see such animal deaths, but I am afraid that is one of the hazards of driving on rural roads. As the dark nights creep in we have to be more aware of the likelihood of wild animals straying onto our carriageways, so I would urge extra vigilance. Wild animals on the road can and do cause collisions. The best advice is to brake and try to avoid a collision without leaving your lane, unless it is safe to do so. If you hit an animal which is covered by The Road Traffic Act 1988 – namely, dogs, goats, horses, cattle, donkeys, mules, sheep and pigs you are legally required to report it to the police.

Parking meters are coming to Nairn - "The option of no charges is no longer on the table"

A season ticket for locals? 

More in this week's Nairnshire Telegraph which reports the comments by Cllr Peter Saggers at a recent community council meeting. 

65-70 "affordable houses" - will it all go Hunky Dory or will everyone have another sup at the Sandown poisoned planning chalice

A company that Highland Council has a sizeable share in has put in a scoping application for 65-70 “affordable houses” on Sandown. Highland Council is the planning authority and also administers the Common Good Land on which the houses would be built. Highland Council will also be holding a consultation on the proposal as under the Community Empowerment Act that has to be done if Common Good Land is “disposed of”. That's a bit of a complicated mix. Add into that a motion that was passed way back in 2013 when the debt the Common Good had incurred with Highland Council due to various things concerned with Sandown was partially written off. 

Flashback then to June 2013 and this from an article we wrote on 23/06/18:

“Sandown debt - no motion for deferral - 390K written off but Council will still get a share of Sandown”

“The total debt up for debate was £734,410.78 but the Nairn Common Good still takes a £344,000 hit. Here is the motion that won the day.

"Option 5. The Council writes off all or part of the debt that relates to the fee of £390,000 paid to acquire vacant possession of the land, and transfers a pro rata share of the land equivalent to the value of the remaining debt."

The following proviso was added from the Director of Finance's report para 3.7: 

(a) any gain in land value is returned to the Nairn Common Good Fund

(b) Highland Council does not gain financially from any future sale of the land"

This adds another element into a situation that this observer feels will not please everybody. Will the toxic history that has plagued previous planning issues concerned with Sandown come back to haunt this new application or can a satisfactory way forward be agreed with the community? There is no doubt that there is considerable support for public housing of some kind on Sandown but will what is proposed here hit the spot? Will the Common Good get any cash at all once the sale price is paid? 

Whatever way this pans out however we thought some of our readers may wish to follow a few links to other articles concerning Sandown that we published in 2013. They may also be of some use to new Councillors on the block, Peter Saggers and Tom Heggie, who were not in office when everyone was supping from the Sandown poisoned chalice last time round.

Just click on the titles to see the full articles:

FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 2013

Sandown debt - Laurie’s words of wisdom through at Glenurquhart Road and other snippets

Debt decision - Michael Green's view - "closure to the Sandown saga"

THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013

Sandown debt - no motion for deferral - 390K written off but Council will still get a share of Sandown

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2013

Sandown Debt Controversy - dramatic new moves outlined at West CC meeting tonight (Weds)

TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 2013

Liz: “A lot of the dealings that has gone on with that has been dealt with, been proved to be illegal”

MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2013

Essential reading material for all students of Sandown matters- Westies write to the four Nairn Highland Councillors

SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2013

Thursday decision for Highland Council - Common Good debt on Sandown- Colin's view plus other comment

Sandown debt options to be decided Thursday - Laurie's view

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2013

Nairn Sandown Lands 700k debt options for Thursday decision - " Do our councillors know or have they been kept in the dark?"

Common Good Sandown: meeting next Thursday in Inverness - 5 options to addressing the sum owed to The Highland Council of £734,410.78

Oirthir gu h-oirthir - Rèis nan Radain - Coast to Coast - Rat Race 8th September 2018 Start at Nairn

Brigadoon like it will all be over by 9 am when the last wave leave on their journey across the Highlands to the West Coast. Good to see this competition returning each September to Nairn. 

Individual images here. 

Apples - got too many? Why not get juiced up at the Nairn Festival - Sat 15th September - Viewfield 13.00 - 16.00

Review of Nairn Sandown for new affordable homes

There has to be consultation then before any disposal of "Common Good Land".

Highland Council's previous involvement with proposed development on the Sandown Lands has been highly controversial to say the least. This time round it looks as though the local authority is setting out its stall before things go any further. Here's the press release issued today:

"The Highland Council has a commitment to deliver 2500 new affordable homes over a 5 year period. The Council and its partners have been carrying out a review of potential development sites throughout the Highlands regardless of land ownership in order to deliver this programme.

As part of this review, the Sandown area south of the A96 was identified as a zoned site, within the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan, with potential for housing development. The site also benefitted from an approved development brief. 

The Council asked Highland Housing Alliance (HHA) as one of its development partners, to facilitate a feasibility to determine if this would be a viable site for consideration to assist the council in meeting its overall affordable housing targets. 

Initial feasibility work included contacting statutory authorities to determine whether there would be any significant constraints on the site. This also included contacting the council’s planning service with regard to a screening application to determine whether an environmental statement would be required if a planning application were to be submitted. 

The feasibility work being carried out will assess if the site is suitable and viable for potential housing development, and whether HHA should consider submitting a proposal of application notice (PAN). 

Any application related to Sandown land would have to be considered by the Nairnshire Area Committee and subsequently by the full Highland Council prior to any decision being made. 

Also as part of this process, in accordance with the Community Empowerment Act, the Council is now required to undertake a consultation process before any disposal of Common Good land can proceed. Representations received must be taken into account when reaching a decision on disposal. Proposals would be published on the Council’s website together with a guide for making representations, with the relevant community council and any interested community bodies being notified directly. This consultation is separate to the formal planning process.

Any potential planning application would have to follow the major application process. No planning application would be made without approval from the Nairn Common Good and prior to submission of any planning application, full public consultation would take place. 

Feasibility work is at an early stage but this is potentially a great opportunity for new affordable homes for Nairn."

Gurn comment - how about Council housing instead of "affordable housing"?

More Gurn comment - Highland Council administer the land, they are also the planning authority and own a sizeable share of the company that has put in the application. Bearing all that in mind would it be wise for them to put this consultation out to an organisation that has no financial or other interest in Sandown?

Dà thachartas Gàidhlig aig Fèis Leabhraichean Inbhir Narainn Dihaoine sa tighinn

Dà thachartas #Gàidhlig aig Fèis Leabhraichean Inbhir Narainn Dihaoine sa tighinn, còmhla ri Ruairidh MacIlleathain agus Catrìona Lexy Chaimbeul:

Two #Gaelic events at @Nairn_Festival next Friday, with Ruairidh MacLean and Catriona Lexy Campbell:https://t.co/IJpPOaqVIN pic.twitter.com/dErhwpLZkU

— Gaelic Books Council (@LeughLeabhar) September 7, 2018

NCFC U-13 debut success

Nairn Coastal Rowing Club - Skiff Launch - 22 September

Housing Development in Nairn turns East? 65-70 Houses for Sandown?

Oppps apologies "West" - a bit confused folks, so much in Nairn has gone West already. 

A screening application for 65-70 houses has appeared on the Highland Council website here. 

The application takes in a large area of land on the southern field of the three Sandown Lands fields between the wetland area and Sandown Road, a map can be seen on the site. The application is in the name of the Highland Housing Alliance. Their website here states 

"Highland Housing Alliance (HHA) is a development company dedicated to building and managing a wide variety of good-quality homes for people in the Highlands.

The HHA’s vision is to facilitate and deliver additional good quality housing in the Highlands with a wide range of private and public sector partners and to provide a top quality housing development and management service to our customers."

Further information on the site as follows:

"The Highland Housing Alliance is a development company set up to work in partnership with the Highland Council, housing associations, Scottish Government, private landowners and developers to help build more homes of all tenures for people in the Highlands.

The Highland Housing Alliance’s vision is to facilitate and deliver additional good quality housing in the Highlands with a wide range of private and public sector partners and to provide a top quality housing development and management service to our customers.

The Highland Housing Alliance is owned by five housing associations working in Highland, one housing trust and The Highland Council."

Ploughing the Sandown Lands

The Sandown Lands are owned by the Nairn Common Good Fund and this observer has heard them referred too in the past as "a common good asset" rather than common good land". One would imagine that any potential developer would have been in contact with the Trustees of the Common Good Fund (the Highland Councillors) before submitting any sort of application - and as Highland Council are part owners of the Highland Housing Alliance then it would be hard to imagine that this application might have escaped their notice. 

Obviously our four Nairn Councillors will be bound by commercial confidentiality should any such discussion have taken place or be ongoing but perhaps it may be to everyone's advantage for all parties to be as transparent as protocol permits given the troubled history of previous applications for housing on Sandown.