As earlier reported on the Spin but perhaps they have the figures a little wrong. Anyway Gurnites here's some comment from David Brownless:
'Perhaps old news now................ but Nairn has been awarded £800,000 as part of the Scottish Executive town centre regeneration programme.
Given that parts of the Highland Council , quite deservingly at times , come in for a fair amount of flak, I would like to take the opportunity to applaud the efforts made by those responsible for the bid application.
So a period of upheaval awaits the High Street but, given that one of the criteria of this award is that the money needs to be spent quickly, hopefully things will progress at a pace.
Not everyone agrees about overhauling High Street but, with the alternative being that another town could as easily have been awarded this thick end of £1 million, I reckon , like ‘Cheddar cheese and pickle, the Vincent motorsickle’ it’s a ‘reason to be cheerful’.
Given that parts of the Highland Council , quite deservingly at times , come in for a fair amount of flak, I would like to take the opportunity to applaud the efforts made by those responsible for the bid application.
So a period of upheaval awaits the High Street but, given that one of the criteria of this award is that the money needs to be spent quickly, hopefully things will progress at a pace.
Not everyone agrees about overhauling High Street but, with the alternative being that another town could as easily have been awarded this thick end of £1 million, I reckon , like ‘Cheddar cheese and pickle, the Vincent motorsickle’ it’s a ‘reason to be cheerful’.
David '
Well let's hope it's done in a sensitive fashion David, I recently heard one High Street resident saying, 'What can we do to stop them wrecking the High Street like they did the brae, it's far more dangerous down there now.'
UPDATE: (Saturday 11.21) Sandy Park is quoted in the Press and Journal today (makes a change, it is usually Liz who dominates the Saturday edition of the paper that puts Cawdor in Inverness-shire):
'This is just what the town needs. The first phase of the improvements have been well received and I am sure the people of Nairn will welcome the facelift that awaits part of the High Street.'
Sorry Sandy but from what the Gurn has heard most people seem to be upset with what was done on the brae and feel that it is now more dangerous than it was before.
UPDATE: (Saturday 13.41) Nairn wouldn't have got this money without the Tories?
'Mary Scanlon said:“I am delighted this money has been awarded to such worthy communities and I am pleased to say it was Scottish Conservative Pressure which secured this fund. Taken together with the £40m of funding allocated in August as part of Conservative success in the 2009/10 budget, communities in many areas of the Highlands, from Lerwick and Stromness in the Northern Isles to Fort William and Nairn in the East and West, have benefited.”'
Plus the usual disruption during the height of the tourist season?
ReplyDeleteThere's no doubt that there will be some disruption but I'm not exactly sure how you revamp a High Street in a fortnight by waving a magic wand over it. Some of those likely to be worst affected are supporters of the scheme as they can see the potential longer term benefits.
ReplyDeleteThe money has to be spent in a short period of time, so , hopefully things will move quickly.
The Council will encourage constructive suggestions on the scheme and a stakeholders group will have to be formed. So, while it's ever so easy to sit back and snipe, let's see some people come forward and become an integral part of the process.
Someone could even start a 'High Street Revamp' blog...... to keep the watching world up to date :)
Well, sometimes it is easier to just sit back and snipe; quite literally.
ReplyDeleteThe money has to be spent in a short time? Why?
A Stakeholders group will be formed; define stakeholder?
How would 'those with a stake' know how and when to come forward?
Who will define 'The Rules of Engagement'; come to think of it, these have very rarely been clearly defined in Highland when any kind of public engagment takes place.
How can you be sure that you will not raise false hopes?
It is so important that people take part in ativities like this, but what about training so that they can ge the best out the participation? As always where is the money for this and the time?
How much more can you expect of the ordinary person in the street when they are inundated with requests to support their community council or take part in Government consultations or take part in consultations on the plethora of local plans and strategies or respond to the raft of planning applications or take part in planning appeals?
This is not meant to discourage - far from it. It is meant to start a debate to get a better understanding of why people do and do not get involved.
What planet is Sandy Park on? It's time he got back on the mean streets of Nairn and spent a wee while at the top of the Brae (especially in the morning) and sees the results of the 'improvements'. Traffic jams, loss of parking, lorries driving on the pavements which were supposed to be safer for pedestrians? The disruption was bad enough when the work was being carried out on the Brae but at least there was an alternative route via Gordon Street which there won't be on the High Street. Something for us all to look forward to in 2010, even more chaos and traffic gridlock?
ReplyDeleteI also wonder what horrors will appear when the start digging? They encountered plenty of problems with the Brae what with drainage and pipes.
It's also worrying that this has to be done in a hurry, please don't let it be a case of act in haste, repent in leisure. Will it be a case of 'others' knowing what is best for us? In other words, here it is, get on with it!
Something else we have to look forward to; seeing how the new pavements on the Brae are going to stand up to ice and snow, this should be interesting.
The Nairn bloggers doppelganger the spin has already highlighted the fact that the new work on the Brae is fading just a few months after completion
ReplyDeletehttp://nairn-blog.blogspot.com/2009/11/its-wash-out.html
Ah yes a snipe.
ReplyDeleteA type of bird that builds a nest,and
lines it with everything it can get its beak on.
Very similar to the Stakeholder Bird.
The money has to be spent in a relatively short time because that was always one of the conditions of the awards ( I think it's this financial year)
ReplyDeleteI think the term stakeholder is well defined in the dictionary, I'll not try to redraft it...but it would be a group made up of the people affected by the scheme, representatives of residents, businesses, access groups the contractors and the Council.
All I ask is that those who have concerns about the proposed works,and those who have constructive thoughts, take advantage of the chance to express their opinions when the opportunity arises. The scheme was put out to public consultation over many months but I know fine well that there will be a great raft of people who will say they never saw it........such is the way with these things.
Speaking as a Community Councillor, I must apologise for the demands we obviously place on the residents of the town and area, in asking for support...but , as per Newton's first, nothing will change, unless someone changes it. Hopefully there will be enough people who will help to make sure it'll be a project that will be seen as a positive step forward for the town.
Regarding starting a debate as to why people do , or don't get involved. It is an important thing to determine and often crosses my mind when I sit at a Ward Forum or Community Council meeting, ...but , while we are debating, we aren't doing anything and, in these circumstances ,with the assistance of some forward thinking townsfolk, we just have to get on and 'do' :)
I hope the powers that be argue for the money to be spent wisely.
ReplyDeleteThe brae in most people's opinion was wasted money, and I am inclined to agree with that assesment. I have stumbled several times on the undulating surface, and have seen many buses and lorries unable to proceed up the brae because of the obstructive nature of the kerbs.
It also does not slow the people it should.
Frankly if I had anything to do with investing the money I would pedestrianise the High street properly, or use it all towards a bypass ! I HOPE ALL OUR COMMUNITY COUNCILS AND COUNCILLORS CAN HEAR THIS !
"Regarding starting a debate as to why people do , or don't get involved. It is an important thing to determine and often crosses my mind when I sit at a Ward Forum or Community Council meeting, ...but , while we are debating, we aren't doing anything and, in these circumstances ,with the assistance of some forward thinking townsfolk, we just have to get on and 'do' :)"
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as a 'slogger' and a 'doer' it seems to me that I and a lot of other people have devoted an awful lot of their time "doing".
You can 'do' and 'debate' at the same time with 'debating' as part of the doing. You could also use the word debate in the more deliberative sense in terms of how we get people to come forward and once they have come forward; how can the experience be improved? People come forward, have negative experiences and then do not bother to come back.
The stakeholder group is going to have to discuss the merits of any proposals anyway; how do you bring together and evaluate differing views? How do you ensure that the agenda is not hijacked by one interest group or another?
It is about public perception and faith and trust in the process. It is about considering and taking on board the views of others.
(The 'Involvment' standard just happens to be the first of the 10 Standards for Community Engagment?)
Oh, and speaking from bitter experience, the public are not always considered 'stakeholders'; this term seems to be a bit of a movable feast when it comes to planning.
Couldn't we just forget the whole thing and let some other town be the victim this time?
ReplyDeleteGood idea - can't we start a savings scheme for a bypass, any schemes that Nairnite think are worthless set the money allocated to aside until we have enough for "deposit" on a bypass...
ReplyDeleteLol! No cash for Nairn - people complain. Nairn gets cash - people complain!
ReplyDeleteThese aren't rushed plans - it's been planned for for a long time, to work in conjunction with the Brae developments. I really don;t understand why people think a process that was originally in consultation and planned for multiple stages a year or so ago at least is somehow "rushed"!!
Yes, the Brae could have been better - but that's simply because so many people wanted different things that any work was never going to please anyone. Full pedestrianisation with vehicle access for residents would have been a good move to make the town centre more friendly for pedestrians, but people objected and insisted on full vehicle access.
Could it have been better? Probably. But any work was always better than no work, and no, it's no more dangerous than before.
Just because a few lorries break the law by parking on the pavement shouldn't condemn the Brae - it just means we need more traffic officer attention there.
In the meantime, it's great to see Nairn continue to move forwards in a planned way that really did take all community considerations into account.
- Brian
'(The 'Involvment' standard just happens to be the first of the 10 Standards for Community Engagment?)'
ReplyDeleteand that statement alone makes it crystal clear why you need to be very careful who ends up on any sort of stakeholder group!
One thing for sure- however much effort is made by the people who want to try to make a difference, there will always be those who are content to keep their heads below the parapet and just take pot shots.
It's not going to be everyday that £800,000 is given to Nairn,many other places could use it if you don't. If the money has to be spent quickly, and has to be used for the High Street project, then just get on and do it. I'm sure the silent majority of people that live in Nairn who don't blog will be pleased to see the town centre geting smartened up.
Well said Gisajob.
ReplyDelete'I'm sure the silent majority of people that live in Nairn who don't blog will be pleased to see the town centre geting smartened up.' said gizajob
ReplyDeleteOf course the silent majority support Highland Council and their town centre policy 100% don't they?
'Of course the silent majority support Highland Council and their town centre policy 100% don't they?'
ReplyDeleteI didn't suggest that the people of Nairn support the Highland Council 100% .I doubt if the HC can manage 1% support in certain areas some of of the time.
I do feel though, if they were asked "Would you like to see Nairn High Street brightened up? " - the the answer from most folks in the town would be yes.
@gizzjob
ReplyDeleteDo you have block paving skills by any chance? :-)
"I do feel though, if they were asked "Would you like to see Nairn High Street brightened up? " - the the answer from most folks in the town would be yes."
ReplyDeleteStreet Interviewer to public:
"Would you like to see Nairn High Street brightened up?"
Jo and Josie Public:
"Yes and about time!"
Developer (proposing a 17 storey tower block painted all the colours of the rainbow in the town centre) to Councillor committee:
"We have the full support of the community; we interviewed the public in the street and they said, "Yes, and make it quick"
Slight exaggeration but you get the drift.
So the Nairnshire has the total to over a £million now which, I suppose, is good news for those of us who anticipate it being spent wisely on actually improving the High Street (forget the Brae - we are stuck with it for now. Hopefully it will not be the same "Professionals" designing the next phase). What does concern me though is what our provost has been quoted as saying in the same article. Was that a less than carefully disguised attempt at coercing funds from Sainsburys in return for what obligation?
ReplyDeleteIn case nobody has noticed Nairn is bleeding funds to the West and what chance the haemorrhage will be stopped by a tourniquet to the East?