King Street application - town centre car parks to lose 39 spaces to flats and office parking?

This observer just been over to the Highland Council e-planning file for the application that involves the demolition of the Old Social Work Buildings and the building of flats and an office on the adjacent car park and a document from the Highland Council's own Transport planning team states:

"The proposed application therefor should have 32 parking spaces."

You can read all the relevant documents, comments and see the plans here. Probably all worth taking in alongside this recent Gurn post which is a good read in itself and worthy of a dram or a cuppa to accompany it. 

Joan Noble, an accomplished critic of past Transport Assessments accompanying large planning applications in Nairn had recently turned her eye to the parking arrangements for the proposed development. Here is how she has articulated her concerns in a submission to the Highland Council:

Mr Keith Gibson,
Planning Officer
Highland Council
                                            6/03/20

Objection to Planning Application 20/00338/FUL

Dear Mr Gibson,

Further to my objection letter of 28th February, I have today looked at the Highland Council’s own Transport Planning Report for the application and was most surprised to read the following:

‘Parking and Turning

The Councils Parking Standards are fully set out within the Roads and Transport guidelines for New Developments. 

Houses and Flats with Communal parking for residents require 1.2 parking spaces plus Visitor Parking (Communal, may be on-street) of 0.3 spaces each.
This provides a calculation of 12 flats multiplied by 1.5 parking spaces, giving 18 parking spaces for the flats. 

The Flats require cycle parking. The Minimum recommended cycle parking provision for residential Flats should be: 2 spaces per flat provided within secure enclosed storage facility. May be reduced to 1 space per flat where communal storage is provided. 1 visitor space per 10 flats outside/near main entrance.

If we consider the CAB offices to be Offices, the maximum parking per Gross Floor Area is assessed at 1 space per 30m2 GFA. The Application states the GFA of the Office to be 420m2 , providing a calculation of 420m2 / 30m2 giving 14 parking spaces. 

The offices also require cycle parking. Minimum parking requirement for office cycle parking of 2 spaces plus 1 space per 250m2 GFA.

The proposed application therefore should have 32 parking spaces.’


In spite of this report by HC’s own transport department, the planning application avers that the whole development will produce no additional parking requirements at all, and the net loss of town centre parking will be 7 spaces. In effect what has been calculated and is advised by their own team will lead to 39 parking spaces being lost.  

This sort of behaviour seems to be the antithesis of PAN 82 which cautions Councils to be extremely careful to make sure the whole process is scrupulously honest, open and above board when they have a direct conflict of interest in an application.

I would like to add this to my previous objection.


Yours faithfully,


 Joan Noble