There is a "Community empowerment and Renewal Bill" being formulated at Holyrood to give communities more say in their own affairs. The Highland Council also promises Nairn a better deal through the new Badenoch Strathspey and Nairn area committee. Today it will be business as usual however as the planning committee councillors arrive in Nairn to see the site proposed for a housing development at South Nairn and then go back to Inverness to make their decision. Maybe one day this community will be able to make such decisions for itself?
The plan includes 233 houses and 87 flats and the way into town for all the potential future citizens of Nairn that would inhabit the housing scheme would be via the Cawdor Road railway bridge - already a scene of much controversy. Once past that they could join the current tailbacks that are building up most days on the A96 through the town. Iain Bain makes the South Nairn proposal the subject of his editorial today and states:
"The thought that a housing development of this size, staged though it might be, could be built on the basis of the current road system beggars belief."
The planners are not so concerned though, they recommend that the councillors grant planning permission to the development. You can read their report here. There is a plan of the proposed development here. The committee proceedings will be webcast live on the Highland Council site. It will be interesting to see what our local councillors have to say at this meeting in light of the seventy plus objections the proposal has received.
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