Regenerating Nairn town centre - can we get a few tips from Malcolm Fraser's report to the Scottish Government

One of our regular readers has pointed us in the direction of in independent study commissioned by the Scottish Government to look into the future and potential of Scotland's Town Centres. The Report led by architect Malcolm Fraser is now available on line. Our correspondent particularly feels that pages 11 about the importance of events/activity/culture, 12 about the location of public services, and  14 about the unwisdom of promoting edge-of-town developments while allowing town centres to decline are worthy of a read if you are short of time. You can find the doucment here.

There are many in Nairn that want to see things done differently and better, escaping what they consider to be the straight jacket of the present modus operandi of the Inverness based Highland Council. Can the Glenurquhart Road high heid yins approach change radically and give our community a freer hand to make its own decisions? The report states:

"It is central to our work that we create a fertile environment around communities which hands them tools to improve their own town centres, and shows them opportunities to find their own diverse ways forward."

The report is worth a cup of tea and a browse if you have the time, it isn't too long and is refreshing in that it is remarkably free of too much bureaucratic language.