" 3.50 At Transport Scotland’s request, the applicant treated a 550 house proposal at Sandown on the west side of Nairn, which was the subject of a planning application at that time, as “committed development”. Transport Scotland asked for this to be done because the NLP allocates the site for housing. However, the Sandown scheme should not have been treated as “committed” because it did not have planning permission. A developer cannot expect not to contribute to road improvements just because its site is allocated and the need for mitigation only becomes clear when permission is granted. Furthermore, the NLP allocation is for only 140 houses and business use. In any event, the Sandown application has been refused. If it had not been included, Transport Scotland would probably not have required additional signals. The reduction in the amount of non-food floorspace at Balmakeith since SSL 38 was produced provides further comfort that the scenario it considers is robust."
The full document can be seen here: Report by Janet M McNair, a Reporter appointed by the Scottish Ministers • Case reference: NA/HLD/045
Make of that what you will - did the plan for 550 houses on Sandown seriously influence the thinking in demanding lights?