All the kerfuffle surrounding the new opportunities in Inverness - at the 'under construction' Beechwood Campus, (golden bridge), the 'Inverness West Link' 'developments', the new 'student hub' - has made me ponder on whether there will be a future for any of the proposals for the A96 Corridor as they stand.
So, let us look at the infrastructure requirements to enable large scale building in the A96 Corridor - upgrade of the A96 trunk road; improvements to the railway service including the building of a station at Dalcross and the construction of the eastern end of the Trunk Link Road - alongside the potential employment opportunities.
At the moment the council is finding money from its budget to finance the building of that now well known 'local road', the 'Inverness West Link' and costs are rising. THC is currently promoting the benefits of all the developments that could be built as a result of the construction of this road (at Ness-side, Charleston) and of course these developments will be able to have relatively easy access the employment opportunities at the the new Beechwood Campus, at 'Lifescan Scotland', at the 'Inshes Retail Park', at 'Raigmore Hospital' and possibly at the new 'Daktari' biotech company if it relocates to a site on that side of Inverness.
Then of course there is access to Inverness itself, 'Whin Park', 'Eden Court Theatre', the 'Inverness Leisure Centre' etc. So why would anyone seeking to live in Inverness or around Inverness wish to buy anywhere else other than around all the facilities, especially when the price of petrol is escalating. Significant improvements will be needed to the Raigmore Interchange to accommodate traffic wishing to access the 'Inverness Retail Park' and multiplex. But why would people choosing to occupy the hundreds of new builds at the 'west end' (Ness-side/ Charleston) wish to travel any further east than the main Inverness Retail Park that or indeed go as far as that?
With respect to rail access to the C0rridor, a new station at Dalcross is an important link. However, despite the 'Aberdeen to Inverness Corridor Improvements Phase 2' being mentioned in the 2012, Scottish Ministers HLOS [...Network Rail’s revenue requirements and regulatory outputs for the period 2014-2019 (Control Period 5).] and the station itself being mentioned in the 2010 Aberdeen to Inverness Rail Improvement engineering study we are still very much in the HLOS, Tier 3, 'do this if you have the money left after the other stuff' territory. Despite the 2010 engineering report saying that a new station will be provided at Dalcross, another report says, '...a possible station at Dalcross near Inverness Airport'.
In respect of improvements to the A96 - mainly dualling the A96 between Inverness and Nairn - a consultation has been undertaken but I would suggest that focus has well and truly shifted to the A9 with a Government report making the following assertion:
"...Amongst the many important investments set out within this document, I draw your attention to the following long term commitments that are particularly significant:
- On transport - by 2025, we will have dualled the A9 between Perth and Inverness, with a view to completing the dualled road network between all our cities by 2030;"
A super 'A96 Corridor Development Contributions Protocol' - to set out a mechanism for contributions to infrastructure in the A96 Corridor - was supposed to have been in place BEFORE planning applications in the Corridor were considered (as far as I interpret) but this protocol is not in place even now. With 'Development Viability' being a new buzzword and new Government guidelines in place, it is not easy to see how the economy could support the kind of planned development that would be needed to ensure the building of the promised infrastructure in the Corridor. In fact I am not sure that the kind of models proposed were ever adequate, even in a favourable economic climate, to ensure sufficient contributions from development interests to build the promised levels of infrastructure.
The main employment opportunities for the A96 Corridor should be at the 'Inverness Airport Business Park', IABP and 'Whiteness', plus some limited retail opportunity at Stratton, East Inverness, no doubt. However, the new IABP chairman has stated in an newspaper article that 'PATIENCE will be needed as efforts continue to attract companies to the Inverness Airport Business Park...' and the article notes, 'More than three years after the 250 hectare project received planning consent, Bond Air Services remains the only tenant and no operator has come forward to run a hoped- for hotel.'
Ambitious plans for a Marina and housing at Whiteness, Ardersier, close to Nairn, were given outline planning in 2006 but nothing has come of them to date and the site is now of interest in terms of offshore renewables. However any employment opportunities in 'renewables' that may present themselves at Whiteness could be more easily accessed by those living in the new residential homes planned for developments in Nairn, which is a lovely little town with a good range of amenities. As far as the planning permission for Stratton, East Inverness, is concerned, an application for amendments to the terms of planning permission has been submitted.
Given the circumstances it is not easy to see how plans for expansion in the A96 Corridor will be realised even in the medium to long term. Money is scarce, priorities change
A new retail park on the Western edge of town with cinema chain and Nando's etc is perhaps next on the Developer's wishlist?
References in some earlier posts:
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