Regular readers will have been following the Sequoia matter with an application from Albyn housing for an area next to the hospital. Meanwhile just the other side of QueensPark on Mill Road another application has entered the pages of the Highland Council e-planning site and this one would mean the felling of some other mature trees if it is approved by planners. The application for three houses can be seen here.
Here at the Gurn we had an interesting conversation with one of the regular river walkers about the wildlife in this area and the potential impact of any felling. There's no doubt there are a few creatures about along the riverside that find their way into neighbouring areas. One would imagine as in the Albyn application mentioned above the Highland Council forestry officer will be asked for his views so the impact of any felling be considered as part of the process.
There's no doubt that Nairn's natural environment is one of the pleasures of living here and trees, especially mature ones, make us feel good as we move around the town and we can sort of develop a relationship with them. Alongside this of course are the liberties of a free society such as the right to apply for planning permission, fell trees and build houses if successful with an application and thus debate can ensue on the e-planning pages for officials and eventually councillors to consider.
We can't help wondering at the Gurn if it is time to decide what wooded areas we wish to protect for the future and where we should be creating a lot more wooded areas. Time for an holistic approach across the town? For example, as far as we can remember there was a concept that the Sandown Lands would be landscaped in advance and as the houses got built in five year increments residents would be moving into areas where trees and shrubs had been growing for several years. Good ideas seem to end up on the shelf though until the wheel gets reinvented a few years later. Time for a few tablets of stone?
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| Site for three houses at Mill Road? |
