"Consideration may also be given to the disposal of Central Car Park between Falconers Lane and Fairlie Lane", say the details on the Highland Council "Development Opportunity in Nairn Town Centre" web page.
Assuming of course that the Central Car Park is indeed that big bittie bewteen Falconers Lane and the Co-op supermarket and not a term for something else then, is this perhaps a "consideration" too far? Any of the NICE folk out there with any thoughts? Where would you park if the central car park was sold off - up at Sainsbury's perhaps? Surely there must be some mistake?
14 comments:
Sell the old community centre, council offices, AND car park as a single development?
I'm astonished and speechless.
All they've done is signed over the entire area for a big new residential development.
The HC planning dept is simply lazy, incompetent, and isn't worth paying for.
What did the "Town Centre Project Team" do all this time? Nothing, by the looks of things.
They do say "The development site can be split into three distinct parts" Brian but was thinking stand by for a planning application for a load of flats perhaps?
Hopefully something imaginative might still come out of all this yet.
I do think they've put in a lot of hard work Brian and have been particularly impressed by the capabilities of Tim Stott but at the end of the day any output of officials will always go through the filter of elected councillors.
The public toilets are also up for sale, these are the only ones off the High Street. I think the ones at the Harbour would be the next nearest? Is it really a good idea to lose such a facility in our town?
I know there are some initiatives to pay for toilets to be made public in some commercial premises as an alternative in some towns, but in the current economic climate which of the High Street's hotels or bars is likely to stay open that long?
Yeah vote Cludgie Party and help the allotments get one - soon that might be the only place left to spend a penny in town!"
Loss of free car parking would make a serious dent to the numbers of folk who shop in the High Street, there is barely enough spaces now. More trade for Sainsbury's, highly likely
Highland Council have managed to kill the old town of Inverness by making street parking just about impossible in that area now. I can understand as to why the likes of Oddbins closed if you can't park your car close by to load up
It would seem that our council are trying to make every penny they can from the sale of property and land. no matter what the consequences
The Co-op were right not to sell the old Somerfields filling station to the council for a nominal sum as Sandy stated, the council would have had it back on the market by now for a higher price
This is no longer a sale of the family silver, it's also the everyday cutlery that we need
As an aside, has the Provosts large chain also been sold, conspicuous by its absence in recent months. At least tell us what has happened to this asset!
IMPORTANT - It should be noted that this particular site is contained within a Development Brief prepared to promote the regeneration of part of Nairn Town Centre. The Brief has been repared following consultation with local residents and provides a guideline/framework within which local planners would expect any proposed development to adhere.
The Brief provides an indication of those uses that would be viewed upon favourably, as well as stating some key features and assumptions pertaining to any development.
This clause in the details seem to be pretty clear ( not that anyone else seemed to bother reading that far down the document).
So, as I understand it, the prospective purchaser of the site would have to satisfy the development brief, which was produced as a result of work undertaken by NICE ( which was open to anyone to join) and The Highland Council.
The brief makes clear the balance expected between residential, office and retail use, plus possible amenity areas. You can see the plan that was developed as a result of the meetings here
Seems fairly democratic to me . We all had the chance to have our say in the process. The Council have had years of criticism for not marketing the buildings..............so they do, and make it clear that the development brief applies..........and people take offence.
I am also led to believe that the Council are one step ahead of the critics , with plans in place to establish a new toilet facility.
Judging from the comments here it seems as though it's the same people who are happy to shoot their mouths but never ever get involved in our community
All mouth and no trousers again
No parking = no shops on high street. That's the short of it.
There is no point people saying there has already been a consultation period. Quite frankly it is a small proportion of residents who are aware of council deliberations and consultation periods, unless read in press, etc.
THC does really need to preserve parking in the town centre, to support businesses in the town centre. Otherwise we'll all be shopping at Sainsbury, and great that the shop is, I don't want a "dead" town center.
Liz raised her concerns about the potential selling off of car parking spaces tonight at the Ward Forum. Rosemary Young and others also want the former social work buildings not to be demolished and stated that this was the will of the community. They want their preservation put into the brief for the developers.
It ain't all over yet - more soon in a Gurn article
I heard that there is a social work office in the Fishertown now?
With Sainsbury's open I can't see the Co-op wanting to keep two stores running when they're so close to each other.
Add the King Street store to all the land and property that the council have for sale and we could see a town centre supermarket, a Tescos in Nairn?
As a person who is Disabled through a Accident i had i now suffer from Ankylosing Spondylitis of The Lower Spine and Neck. I get terrible Inflammation in my Lower Back and Neck due to the Damage ie no Muscle support. I suffer at all times some days Good some days Bad. I get the terrible urge to need to Pee due to the Pressure off the Bones Pushing Against my Spine and against my Bladder which cant be helped. For somebody like me if the Toilets Closed it would be a Nightmare. There should be a Legal Right that there should be Toilets available to Everybody whether Disabled or Not. I cannot belive how Seviour this matter is. I was reading The Highland News and they said they were doing the same in Inverness. The Council and The Goverment have a Legal Right to to have Toilets Availabe for everybody. They cannot get away with this its beyond a Joke how Far they have Gone.
The problem is that car parking space is being made available in the sale - this can only be to ensure that a residential development can be given an easy go ahead.
Without parking provision, a residential development would have trouble getting planning permission.
Hence my dismay at the sale brochure putting these together.
While people are right to suggest there are recommendations for non-residential usage, this does not appear to be mandated, putting the entire development in the same bracket as previous developments in the town centre and harbour.
The whole brief suggests that the HC has provided ample allowance for residential development, with the hope of pushing in a couple of non-residential units in there somewhere.
Hence my dismay that there are no clear planning restrictions already in place against residential-only development.
I can't imagine as to what new building residential or commercial wouldn't need car parking, so the inclusion in the sale would surely just be sensible?
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