HIGHLAND COUNCIL A96 CORRIDOR POLICY A SHAMBLES

Members have e mailed to advise us that the Press and Journal has published an article today

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1309029

This was based on a recent press release prepared by one of our committee members further to much discussion of the "Speakeasy Report" at our most recent committee meeting on Monday this week. i have reproduced the text below.


Action for Planning Transparency (APT) welcomes the publication by the Highland council of a report which illustrates just how unrealistic their own framework for development of the A96 Corridor between Inverness and Nairn has become.

In their recently published summary report on their recent "speakeasy" workshop with developers and land owners (http://www.highland.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/CEDAD1E6-5031-47BF-BDD1-5D7669B84DB3/0/ReportofProceedings.pdf ), the following facts emerged loud and clear:

· The validity of forecast / aspirational population growth projections was questionable.

· Development on the scale envisaged cannot occur without the provision of infrastructure: roads; water supply; waste water treatment; schools; medical care; social infrastructure.

· Transport Scotland has no funds and no priorities for providing the roads infrastructure.

· Scottish Water's funding has been reduced by 18% over the next spending programme.

· The developers and land owners do not want to fund infrastructure provision.

· The developers and land owners want to build the first phases of their developments without infrastructure provision.

· Without infrastructure provision, new settlements may not emerge in the places that the Highland Council would wish.

APT finds it interesting that the speakeasy workshop dealt with short-term development, over the period 2011 to 2016, whereas the Highland Council's A96 proposals cover a 30-year period. It is clear that the developers and land owners want untrammelled access to the prime agricultural land in the Corridor to build what they please, where they please. They obviously envisage that someone else will pick up the huge bills for providing infrastructure that does not exist presently.

APT poses the question: Would it not be better to follow Scottish Government advice, and to build any additional housing on the fringes of existing settlements, where infrastructure already exists, or can be tapped into?

APT is calling for a fundamental, root and branch, review of the Highland Council's A96 Corridor plans. This should begin with an expert, analytical, view on the completely unrealistic population growth projections that have been used as justification for this deeply flawed concept.

APT
Inverness, Wednesday 15th July 2009.