John Mackie opened this item on last night’s Suburban CC agenda by mentioning that the Community Council had contacted the Highland Council about taking the proposed parkland project on the Sandown lands forward but had heard nothing from the Council.
Sandy explained that whilst Deveron technically hadn’t given up at that stage there was nothing that could be done but things were moving on near and he would speak to the planners on that. He said: “The next stage is to form a new development brief and that is where the community and community councils will get involved. There will be plenty of consultation in that department, that is for definite.”
John Mackie thought that having a park in situ would bring things on. John Hart was next to speak he stated: “ The other angle is the charging of the Common Good Fund for the costs for whatever has happened at Sandown, it transpires the sum total was seven hundred and thirty-four thousand. A lot of it was actually expended in 2000/2001 and has never been brought to account until 2009/10, that’s why the 734 amounts to that because it has taken this long to decide to bill the Common Good Fund. I don’t understand how anything this is over six years old can be billed after it has happened.”
John continued for a little longer before Sandy replied and he said: “”The auditor, everyone was aware that that money was sitting there until such time as we went through another process of joint/major partnership with Sandown Land - which didn’t work. So then all the legal costs were added up. It is now with the development going belly-up we now have to release all the charges to the Common Good. I think the Council has been very fair to the Common Good over the years. It’s not asking for the money to be repaid because we can’t repay it, we haven’t got any money to repay it. So, if and when a development goes ahead that money will be due to Highland Council. I have no qualms about that, It’s all above board.
A heated exchange of views then continued for a minute or two between Sandy and John before John Mackie intervened with a sage comment:
“It’s something that will go on and fester for a long time but it’s done and we have to move on.”
Sandown will move on but the legacy of the failed development is a spectre that will not be easily banished and may well hover over the ballot boxes at the next Highland Council elections. It is comforting however, to know that a new consultation process is on the way and hopefully the Suburban CC’s vision of a parkland will come to fruition. (see this post for a breakdown of the Sandown charges to the Common Good Fund).