An analysis of what is in the next Nairnshire Committe meeting agenda - thoughts from Nairn River Community Council.
The community council don't hold back readers. On the subject of Nairn Common Good Fund paying for the toilets in Harbour Street to be reinstated:
"This is all the more surprising in a context where £2.4 million Visitor Management funding has already been spent across Highland this year ( everywhere it seems except Nairn) on improving public toilet facilities, with another £1.5 million available for next year. Here in Nairn the only spending from the Visitor Management fund we have seen has been £25,000 on controversial ‘Charging Infrastructure’ for 3 Common Good car parks."
Lots more here on the NRCC site.
5 comments:
To me those agenda items and the supporting documents are deeply disturbing evidence of the extent to which Highland Council (officials and our own Councillors) are exploiting, screwing-up and stitching-up this town.
In each area - Sandown planning, Common Good spending, public toilet provision, and allocation of 'regeneration' money - the proposals are grotesquely inappropriate and ill-judged.
The idea that Sandown consultation be re-run until the Council get the response they want is cynical if predictable (just like the approach to referendums by the EU and - ahem - others!). And it is unbelievably arrogant and patronising to claim that people didn't understand the question, or that the 'right' sectors of the community failed to respond;
The failure to allocate Visitor Management funding to improving necessary facilities (eg for motorhomes) in Nairn, while spending substantial sums on the installation of parking meters on CG land, is a complete scandal;
The allocation of £25k of local investment funding (a quarter of the total available) towards the creation of a Green Hive 'hub' in the historic Seaman's Hall is troubling – more money for consultants?
"The project....involves agreeing the terms of a memorandum of understanding.... establishing a steering group....and applying for funding for phase two. Phase two represents the development phase and preparation of a business plan by consultants, architect drawings and submission of a planning application. It is estimated that the costs for this phase to be between £25-30,000."
So that's all jolly fine. Highland Council is determined that Sandown will eventually be sold off for more suburban development (because that suits the Council's need for revenue and the developers' desire for profit). Nairn's Common Good assets and fund will be steadily and ruthlessly depleted to pay for local services, while Nairn continues to be denied any reasonable share of government and public funding for regeneration. Parking charges will become compulsory, visitors and tourists will be fleeced, fees and penalties levied remotely by use of an expanded CCTV network (paid for again by Common Good funds!). And consultants could laugh all the way to the bank with the money they collect for writing reports.
What's not to like? Welcome to Nairn's Brave New World.
Excellent comment from Soothsayer. Worthy of the Nairnshire.
Too bad FREE SPEECH IS DEAD on the GURN.
I agree with Anonymous 1:12PM + great post Soothsayer!!
I have had some of my recent posts ignored & they were in no way censorship material, The Gurn is in danger of going against what it was set up for, people having a ...... GURN!!!
Really Anon, what the fuck do you know about what the Gurn was set up for? It's this observer's toy. Now please accept a year's free subscription and calm down.
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