'Cities Review'

Extract from an HC report 290503

The Review of Scotland’s Cities was announced in December 2000 around the time when
Inverness gained City status. The publication of the Review was launched by the First
Minister on 9 January 2003. The Review aims to put Scotland’s cities at the centre of
Scotland’s economic growth and dynamism with each city having a key role for its
surrounding region.

The Scottish Executive asked the Councils within which each of the cities are situated to
work with Community Planning partners to develop a City Vision for submission to the
Scottish Executive by end of May 2003. A Cities Growth Fund has been established by the
Scottish Executive providing £90 million over the next 3 years of which £3.1 million has
been allocated to Inverness. The City Vision is required to set out how this money is to be
spent.

Following the award of city status to Inverness and the “Organising the City Region”
involving a wide range of organisations and business interests a City Partnership has been
established. The City Partnership includes representatives from the Council, Highland &
Islands Enterprise, Inverness & Nairn Enterprise, Inverness City Centre Management
Initiative, Inverness & District Chamber of Commerce, HOST and UHI. The main aims of
the City Partnership are to promote a co-ordinated approach amongst public agencies, the
business community and others in implementing the City Vision; agreeing outputs, targets
and timetables; identifying and pursuing funding; and consulting with wider interests on
the future of the City of Inverness.

More information can be found here

And the Inverness City Vision May 2003 thus prepared found here with interesting comments regarding the A96 on pages 2 and 4. Why not note the following comments:

"The population of the Inverness built up area will double to some 100,000 persons by 2030. Inverness & Culloden will be home to some 60,000 citizens, Nairn 10,000, whilst a further 30,000 people will reside in a series of new communities laid out on best ‘garden city’ principles along the intervening A96 corridor." And,

"The Executive will at last complete the dualling of the A96, whilst city traffic will flow that much more smoothly on the long overdue Southern Distributor and CrossRail links"

This non-statutory vision formed part of the basis of the master planning work for the A96 and note how the A96 Corridor framework has departed from the vision.

Members of the Inverness City Commitee were asked to agree the preparation of a new city vision in April 2009