The potential of Team Hamish working with NICE and the fledgling BID to finally kick start regeneration of Nairn has been outlined in a document now available online on the group's site. Reports and initiatives have come and gone (usually to gather dust on a shelf somewhere) or to await a further reinvention of the wheel a few years later. It is usually about suits coming into town with powerpoint presentations telling us what is good for us. Now it is time for home grown talent to take the lead, will the incredibile potential of allowing this community to do it's own thing finally be unleashed with this project being allowed to be the driving force for regeneration of Nairn, with the backing and good will of the many willing and talented folk able to put their shoulders to the wheel?
The Introduction to the Project Plan begins:
"Nairn is widely recognised by outsiders as being ripe for regeneration as a tourist destination.
It is in a location that has assets in abundance, but the town centre itself and the seafront do
not offer enough to encourage visitors to stay for more than a few hours or the potential to
choose Nairn as a ‘return’ destination.
Over the years many ideas have been offered, but unfortunately these have not been
brought to fruition. We would suggest that previous proposals have lacked a holistic,
overarching strategic master plan that encompasses all of Nairn’s assets and highlights their
potentoal. Similarly, full collaboration between community bodies, voluntary groups, local
businesses and the statutory authoritoes has been overlooked. This has resulted in there
being limited ‘joined-up’ thinking to put Nairn back on the map as a tourist destination and
revitalised for the benefit of its Community as a whole.
We believe that a number of recent key developments make this moment in time the perfect
opportunity to begin enhancing Nairn.
The BID, now approved, will play a critical role in Nairn’s future, and will be the local
businesses’ contribution to its regeneration. "