Still Catching up

Readers will have noticed the 'TEST' post recently.  Well problems still occurred after that so I am a little behind with posting.  Apologies if I cover events which are now not so current.

That 'A96 Corridor Development Sunset'; Part 2

One of the main features of the development proposals for the 'A96 Corridor' was to be a 'New Town', (now 4950 units, built out over the years to 2046), adjacent to both the existing hamlet of Tornagrain (the overall plans indicate that the very last phases of this 'New Town'  would be built near to Tornagrain) and the 'Inverness Airport Business Park'.  Well, Outline Planning has already been given and as you will have noted from previous posts a detailed planning application for a small number of units is in the pipeline.

This 'New Town' was recognised as an 'Exemplar' under the Government's 'Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative', SSCI*.  According to a short video, available on the Scottish Gov's planning web pages, the Town will be built '...using a combination of traditional town planning principles with the concepts of New Urbanism, NU'.

But a reading of this recent post, 'The New, New Urbanism' has left me confused as to which 'concepts' of NU will be applied.

In this article in 'Estates Review' the Managing Director of Moray Estates -  the 'New Town' Development Company and landowners - stated that the 'New Town', '...has been designed according to the principles of New Urbanism' and the MD records that Andres Duany and his practice were appointed in Sept 2006 to run design workshops  for the 'New Town', which were much trumpeted 'public' events.  

Mr Duany is a co-founder and emeritus board member of the Congress for the New Urbanism, CNU and is described in the above mentioned blog post as '...arguably the most influential member of the Congress of the New Urbanism...'. He has also took a prominent role within the Scottish Government's 'SSCI Charrette Series' in 2010.

The blog post describes how Mr Duany 'fell on his sword'.  He has apparently proclaimed that his, “heavy, armored brigade” idea of urbanism (ie: the rules, guides, and strict formulas) has become irrelevant.  The blog post seems to say that Mr Duany thought that 5 years ago he had it made, he always had the answers when people came to him and never acted in doubt; and notes that he (Mr Duany) has since taken a year of study and reflection to determine the future of planning and New Urbanism - which should now be, according to the blog, 'Lean. Guerilla. Incremental. Vernacular. Tactical.'.  Mr Duany '...identified two conditions that should dramatically shift the practice of all planners and urban designers: pervasive impoverishment and the psychological shifts of impending climate change.'  So, now, NU needs to take a more minimal approach.  

One of the most interesting things to learn from reading the blog post was that the author, herself a well qualified Urban Designer, felt that;

"Many critics of Andrés Duany might immediately comment on the fact that it is very convenient for the New Urbanist to change his tune after he’s gained his fortune, fame, and elite professional status. Fair point. However, from the inside as someone who has a fair and balanced judgement of the CNU organization (after all, Duany is just one man,) the most exciting thing about his revelation and wishes for the future of New Urbanism, is that they make the movement more relevant and applicable, while in turn, refute it’s major criticisms."

"...the criticisms of the movement that have irked me the most, were based on what he (Mr Duany) created and defended. I’ve written about the criticisms of New Urbanism, but they are well known: over-priced product, green field developments, a traditional architecture rut, and a lack of understanding of the reality of retail.


So where does this leave the basis for the plans for the 'New Town' near Tornagrain I ask myself?  What kind of future will there be for the major central development of the A96 Corridor proposals? Where does this leave the faith that the Scottish Government and many Scottish Planners seem to have put into Mr Duany's 'old' view of 'New Urbanism'?  I really do think it is reasonable to ask these questions and to reasonably ponder on the future of developments which are based on a potentially 'outdated' model of New Urbanism.



[*Extract, Scottish Government web pages: 'The Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative(SSCI) was launched in June 2008 to encourage the creation of places, designed and built to last, where a high quality of life can be achieved. Local authorities, landowners, the development industry and others were invited to submit proposals which demonstrated ambition in addressing a number of principles.']

"Introduce GCSEs in Lying"

"...Maintaining a lie in the face of contradictory evidence..."  

(the audience roars with laughter)

I do enjoy listening to the radio; household favourites include, 'Counterpoint', 'The Now Show', 'A Guide to Farmland Birds', 'A Guide to Mountain and Moorland Birds, 'From our own correspondent', 'Mark Thomas: The Manifesto', 'Money Box Live', 'More or Less', and 'The News Quiz'.  In the past I have enjoyed 'Law in Action', 'Material World', 'Thinking Allowed' and 'Mark Steel's in (Town)'.  There are lots of programmes that I've missed and need to catch up with; 'The Public Philosopher' for example.  

Well last night we were listening to 'Mark Thomas: The Manifesto' and I was stunned by a very thought provoking piece, entitled, 'Introduce GCSEs in Lying'.  Now I thought that it was only us 'oldies' who developed a more jaded view of life as we aged but it appears that what adults are perceived as doing - and perceived as getting away with doing - is having an impact the next generation.

A very literate teenager uses the power of humour to illuminate adult shortcomings; suggesting that 'Lying' be added to the National Curriculum core subjects with the purpose of, 'furnishing young people with the skills and expertise they will need in the workplace'.  The list of professions she cites as using this 'skill' is eye opening, and there was a great deal of knowing laughter around the points that were made re how the subject could be taught; particularly around the line that I have quoted above.

If you have not already listened in then I would recommend you hit the link...

Why so few Women Councillors?

'...Increasing the numbers of women in politics
is crucial but not enough.  Women once in
power need to become effective political actors,
to transform political space and be held
accountable alongside men, for gender equity
and social justice.'*

 '...If councillors are to play a much more active role in supporting and representing their communities, it is important to have councillors to whom the community can relate. The average age of a councillor in England is 60, 96% of councillors are white and only 31% are female.'**

Take a look at the photo here

What do you see?

I see a sea of 'shirts and ties' reflecting that around 3/4 of the elected members of The Highland Council are male and probably mainly over the age of 40.

Is this male to female ratio similarly reflected in the composition of the population of Highland?

Not according to the latest census figures which give figures of 113,500 males and 118,500 females in Highland on census day 2011.  Therefore slightly more female residents but it around 50/50 female to male, not '75/25'.

What about age?

Well according to the census stats for Highland around 54% of the male population is 40 and over but that still leaves 22% of males between the ages of 20 and 39 which does leave that age group under represented.

OK so there are more males than females how does that effect the decision making processes? 

Well looking at things purely in terms of numbers and the fact that committees are the main decision making mechanisms of the Council you could potentially expect that, given the availability, female councillors could take roughly 3/4 of the committee places, however:

On three of the four Strategic Committees, Finance, Strategic Planning and TEC Services, it appears that there is an under representation of female councillors but there also appears to be an 'over representation' of female councillors on the Adult and Children's Services Committee.  From my rough estimates***, Female representation also falls short on Audit and Scrutiny, the Licensing Boards, Valuation Joint Board, Police Board and the South Planning Applications Committee.  Although, I have to say that there are proportionately more female councillors on the Planning Review Board and the North Planning App Committee, along with the Area Committees.

Prior to the 2012 election the BBC reported that, 

'Fewer than one in four candidates standing in the council elections in Scotland are women, academics have reported.'  

According to an item in the 'Herald' before the May Elections, 

'IN a healthy representative democracy, the faces in the country's local council chambers should be a fair reflection of the communities they serve: all generations over 18, a fair sprinkling of ethnic minorities and, of course, around 50% women.  

According to an item in the 'Herald' after the May 2012 elections, 

'Fewer than one in four councillors elected on Thursday was a woman, with even the top Scottish local authority for female representation lagging way behind the average figure south of the Border.'  

According to  a  'Guardian' article , 

'An analysis of Thursday's Scottish council results finds that nearly 25% of new councillors are women, a record level. But is it enough, ask gender equality campaigners?'

So, what is the issue here?  Why are there so few female councillors?

Well, in the Guardian one political blogger puts it very succinctly:

...are middle aged men prepared to give up or share their power?

Well, I have a strong feeling that for some, power once experienced becomes addictive and hard to relinquish.  It remains to be seen whether there is any real will to enable the skills that women undoubtedly have and express in many areas of life to be translated into powerful roles in Local and National Government.

*Just Politics, Women Transforming Political Spaces

**Parliament UK - Representation and Local Democracy

[***Estimates made using details provided in 'Know Your Council']

Other interesting items 

How do we fix the gender deficit in our political culture?

More Women in Politics? Yes Please

Small steps in the right direction

But is it Good News for Women

SPICe Research Briefing

A96 Corridor developments ride off into sunset?

Part 1

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:

Tornagrain and Nairn Planning Applications to be considered by South Planning Committee on Tuesday 21 August

Transport Scotland A96 etc / Nairn Bypass Consultation; more info

Railways - High Level Output Specification and Statement of Funds Available

SLARC no more.

According to the Scottish Gov web site:

'...The Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (SLARC) is an advisory Non-Departmental Public Body set up in 2005. SLARC is a body corporate established under the provisions of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 to advise Scottish Ministers on the payment by Local Authorities of remuneration (including pensions), allowances and the reimbursement of expenses incurred by local authority councillors in accordance with criteria specified by Scottish Ministers from time to time. link here

According to the 'Herald, Scotland':

'LOCAL Government Minister Derek Mackay has been accused of disrespecting Parliament by effectively abolishing the vital watchdog that exposed "top-up" payments to councillors.'

'The three remaining members of the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (SLARC)... have quit amid allegations of ministerial neglect.'

'A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "There are currently no significant issues about councillors' pay on which ministers require advice from SLARC - We therefore intend to stand SLARC down until such a time as we require it to undertake further review work."


The Parliamentary discussion is at section 5 of the page linked here


The most recent review - of Local Authority Councillors Remuneration produced by SLARC - that I can find is for 2010 (published March 2011) and can be found at the link here .  I am still in the process of reading this review, and it is very readable and interesting, with lots of juicy facts and figures.  It does seem that the Committee was proposing increased levels of remuneration for backbench councillors, senior councillors, Civic Heads and Council Leaders, according to the tables on pages 59 and 60 - a Council Leader in Highland for example going from 37,880 (2011 -2012 level) to 50,442. (Local Authority 'Bandings' apply.  The review notes that COSLA was in favour of raising salaries further, with the reasonable assumption in that case that councillors would not have other jobs - 3.41/3.42.

It will be interesting to see what will happen now to councillor roles and remuneration for those roles, but for me, not knowing much about this sort of thing it leaves a lot of questions:

Why was SLARC established in the first instance? I know what is says at the top of this post, but there must have been a need?

Who will undertake the remuneration reviews now?  

Will there be any more reviews?

How will councillors pay and the nature of their roles be determined?


"Answers on a postcard please"

Scottish Government seek Planning Permission in Principle...

...for Knocknagael Farm, Inverness

Very interesting application here by the Scottish Government.

"...Whilst there will be a relatively small area of prime agricultural land lost to development and woodland planting, this must be considered against the economic benefit arising from the reinvestment of receipts in the modernisation of the National Bull Stud farm. This would have a net positive impact for the taxpayer in offsetting the cost of the 
modernisation of the Bull Stud Facility..."**

(**Applicant's Planning Statement, section 5.0 - 'Response to Key Constraints', sub-section 5.6 - 'Loss of Agricultural Land')  

"...Scotland’s soil supports first class agricultural, horticultural and forestry industries 
and in addition underpins its beautiful landscapes and habitats of national and international renown...

...Climate change and loss of organic matter emerge as the most significant threats to the functioning of Scottish soils...Loss of land to development (sealing), loss of biodiversity and acid deposition also represent significant threats to soil function...

...Loss of soil to development eliminates all ecological soil functions. However, there is limited evidence on which to assess the scale of this threat. It has a high local impact and is extensive in the existing populated areas particularly in the Central Belt. Based on the available data, loss of land to development is currently happening at its fastest rate within the last 25 years; current rates are double those in the early 1980s and early 1990s. However, sealing is poorly characterised in terms of scale and location. Although the total area developed can be calculated, the proportion of soil sealed is not known accurately as there are no data for how much soil remains in open spaces and gardens. The quality of land lost to development is also not recorded. Since loss of land to development is largely irreversible as far as natural soil functioning is concerned, it is essential that a better system of recording such losses is put in place..."***

(***Extracts from, 'Scotland's Soil Resource, Current State and Threats', Sept 2006, a Scottish Executive Environmental Research Report.)


Link to ePlanning Pages on THC web site here where there are some 52 comments and a whole range of documents listed.

As far as the applicant's docs are concerned I find the 'Supporting Statement' (as noted above) the most interesting, and I would very much recommend reading this statement to anyone with an interest in planning.  

Extract (- from section 1 - 'Introduction', 1.1 - 'Background to Application'):

...By way of background to the application SG has commenced a farm modernisation programme that will see several farm buildings demolished and replaced, and elements of the Scottish Government Bull Stud Knocknagael’s infrastructure upgraded at significant cost to the public purse. In a period of austerity, government should ensure that where possible, significant capital receipts are identified and managed to derive best value from 
the government estate. Through this modernisation programme SG has identified that several fields are no longer required for farm operations and it is therefore proposed to dispose of the surplus land, and to reinvest the receipts in capital projects. 

Areas of land immediately adjacent to the north of the farm have recently been developed for housing, and three of the fields in this northern part of the farm have been identified as being surplus to the farm’s operational requirements and suitable for development. 

Representations were submitted to the LDP Call for Sites consultation and accordingly the three fields have been shown as potential locations for housing or community developments...

Further to those representations, SG submitted detailed representations to the Inner Moray Firth LDP Main Issues Report. A Masterplan Framework and supporting information was submitted with the representations to demonstrate that the surplus land is capable of accommodating housing development and that it can contribute to the effective housing land supply.


Due to the need to release the value from the land and the anticipated timescales for the Local Development Plan process, SG is now seeking Planning Permission in Principle for housing development on the surplus land. 

Given the benefits that will be derived from the proposed development, mainly by contributing to the effective housing land supply and the consequent investment in capital projects, it is respectfully requested that the Highland Council gives this application its full support.

California; Florida; Ellon, Aberdeenshire; Maryland; Nicaragua; Washington and Nairn, Aberdeen, Scotland

' The Vision for New Development in Nairn draws on the best examples of residential architecture and planning within the region.'

Urban Design Associates 'Plans and Pattern Book' examples including, 'Nairn, Aberdeen, Scotland'

Senior Councillors promote 'west link' related developments

"...The road is the catalyst for a great many exciting opportunities.”  Cllr Gray

According to THC Press Release :

...Exciting plans for the future development of the Torvean/Ness-side areas of Inverness,  together with the timetable for proceeding with the£27.2 million Inverness West Link Road were revealed  today (Friday) by senior members of The Highland Council.

Council Leader Drew Hendry was joined by Depute Leader David Alston, Convener Jimmy Gray, and Leader of the City of Inverness Area Committee Ian Brown and Planning and Development Chairman Thomas Prag in highlighting the huge potential to make Inverness a better connected city, provide much-needed affordable housing and create a recreational/sporting hub in the west of the city, the equal of any in Scotland.

The “golden opportunity” to boost the city’s economy and wellbeing, they say, is being made possible by the construction of the Inverness West Link Road, which will provide a new transport link from the Southern Distributor Road at Dores Road to the A82 trunk road at General Booth Road via a fixed link across the River Ness and the Caledonian Canal.

I must admit I am somewhat bemused by Cllr Prag's comment, "...safeguarding some of the city’s most valuable assets, e.g. Whin Park, Canal Pitches etc from development."  Presumably what the council is proposing does not mean safeguarding the asset that is the land that the road will be built on. 

For more details click on the link above.

For Inverness Courier coverage click links here and here

Update:

'...Senior Highland councillors have welcomed plans by Scottish Canals to consider a new marina and associated tourist attractions and housing at Torvean, Inverness, in tandem with the construction of the Inverness West Link Road and the development of a recreational/sporting hub in the Torvean/Ness-side area...'

(The 'West Link' is what used to be called 'Phase V of the Southern Distributor Road')