"We really have to tackle the bypass first. It can’t be pushed back into the never-never"- Community objections to South Nairn plan - 2

On Wednesday night in the URC hall after Brian, Dick Youngson the Chair of Suburban Community Council spoke. He said:

“I think we echo quite a lot of Brian’s comments, we really going back five years or more when we started discussing this particular scheme in great detail and this as a community, as Nairn. We really have reached general agreement on the planning or layout of, especially the 1^st scheme, which was the three: Scotia, Barratt and Robertsons. There was a lot of discussion and a lot of two-way discussion at that time. We’re still dependent though, as Brian has said, on access and the access through Cawdor Road under the pinch point of the railway bridge. And going further north into the town, into Cawdor Road, the Leopold Street junction, into the High Street will be quite chaotic with the number of houses and the number of, hence, vehicles which will be created. So we really haven’t tackled the town, and it is the impact on the town which is going to be of most concern to most people in Niarn.

The crossing or bridging of the Railway is another main point.

It’s all jolly well to put up a bridge up which is a covered bridge to get pupils to the Academy but we really need to think again about a safe road access which isn’t the Cawdor Road pinch point under the railway bridge. Because really, to alter that bridge is a major undertaking. It’ll take a long time actually to reach agreement with Scotrail and Railtrack. It would be far simpler if we could get a suitable crossing point to get a gated crossing or a barrier crossing. Now that’s something for our debate. The heavy goods vehicles from Gordons, we feel we must find a far better route to get them onto a possible bypass because coming onto Cawdor Road isn’t necessary the best route. It’d be far better choosing a route further West to take us back onto the bypass. We feel that the bypass is really crucial to the start of this project. We really have to tackle the bypass first. It can’t be pushed back into the never-never. We’ve got to have a firm commitment. It’s got to be actually almost coming in first. As it is done in many other countries. Infrastructure comes first before the development comes in behind it; Likewise with sewage, which Scottish Water’s main concern and water supplies.

These are our main concerns, it is needing much more agreement and discussion with developers and Highland Council. We’re not satisfied at the moment that the scheme can even start until many of these questions are solved or answered. Otherwise it’s going to be chaos in the town and we are going to have to life with it and that’s almost insufferable to be forced to do that. We’ve a meeting in a week’s time and this will be discussed and we’ll come back with more information from our Community Council, Nairn Suburban, before the 15^th of February. ”