New Rules to Safeguard Crofts

New planning legislation designed to maintain the long-term viability of crofting communities has been proposed.

The Scottish Government has today proposed to Parliament that new planning rules should be introduced to strengthen protection of crofting land. If passed, the rules will ensure the Crofters Commission is consulted on planning applications which could significantly affect the extent or quality of croft land, and that their views inform planning decisions.

More on Scottish Government we site here

Mr Cable's views on planning

Interesting item on Peter Bill's Estates Gazette blog:

"Has Vince the Courage of his Auction Sales Conviction"

PB refers to comments recorded in the FT with Mr C describing the market for land as being, amongst other things:

"distorted by a slow and prescriptive planning system and speculative hoarding,"

Full piece here

New Planning Customer Satisfaction Survey

The latest on the HwLDP blog

Extract

The Highland Council's Planning & Development Service has launched a new Customer Satisfaction Survey. The Survey takes the form of a quick and simple online questionnaire (just 7 questions) and is intended to find out how we're doing and how we could improve the quality of the services we provide to our customers.

We hope you'll take a little time out and complete our survey below:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QCMC9GD

UHI; why so long?

The UHI web site presents a 'Timeline of events leading to the creation of the University of the Highlands and Islands'. It begins in 1425 when Perth is indentifed as a suitable site for a university - more here

UHI has a mission statement (just below) and the main UHI web page is here:

To be a distinctive and innovative regional university of national and international significance: a university with a pivotal role in the educational, economic, social, cultural and environmental infrastructure of its region and which reaches out to the people of the Highlands and Islands and the rest of the world through its research and teaching.

I began to think; what makes a successful university, does it matter if it situated in a City? What about transport links - are they important? What impact does the range of courses have on a students choice of campus.

An article in the Guardian in Dec 2010 suggested that 49 institutions all granted university status since 1992 could be seriously threatened here

I have collated a random selection of facts from University web sites - some the first ones to come up on a google search entitled, 'successful universities' - to stimulate thought. What do you think?

Northumbria University

With around 35,000 students from over 140 countries, Northumbria University is one of the UK’s largest and most successful universities. Northumbria has a rich history going back through its constituent colleges to the late nineteenth century. It was founded as Newcastle Polytechnic in 1969 and inaugurated as a university in 1992. Offering courses in most major subject areas such as Engineering, Computing, Sciences, Business, Law, Design, Built and Natural Environment, Arts, Social Sciences, Psychology, Sport, Health and many more

Northumbria boasts one of the best inner-city sites in the country having invested well over £100 million in its city centre campus. Our state-of-the-art City Campus East is now home to over 9,000 staff and students from the Schools of Business, Design and Law…one of the most ambitious and successful UK universities for sport and in summer 2010 opened the doors to a state-of-the-art £30 million sport facility - Sport Central

Cardiff University

Founded by Royal Charter in 1883, Cardiff University is a dynamic and successful centre of higher education with an international reputation for high quality teaching and research.

Twenty-one subject areas at Cardiff have been awarded the top 'Excellent' rating for teaching in government-sponsored assessments of teaching quality. Cardiff is also one of the most successful research universities in Britain. With over 28,000 students it is a community with an annual turnover of £429 million. The city of Cardiff offers an excellent location in which to study. Students at Cardiff benefit from the combination of a small, friendly, inexpensive city with the cultural and recreational amenities of an ambitious and progressive capital city

Cardiff is an extremely accessible city, benefiting from excellent road, rail and air communications. Using the hourly high-speed train service, London is reached within two hours.

Cardiff has convenient connections to Heathrow and Gatwick airports and the city also benefits from its own international airport. The city is served directly by the M4 motorway providing fast links to the rest of the UK.

York University

Founded on principles of excellence, equality and opportunity for all, the University of York opened in 1963 with just 230 students, York is one of the most successful universities in the UK and the student body has expanded to 13,000.. With world-class activity across the spectrum from the physical sciences, life sciences, and social sciences to the humanities, we have been recognised as one of the top 100 universities in the world, gaining outstanding results in official assessments of our research and teaching.

York offers something for everyone who lives or works here. It successfully combines a rich historical past with all the attractions of a modern and vibrant city

Leisure attractions include theatres, museums, and art galleries; ancient pubs, chic café bars and restaurants, and a superb array of shops. With the added serenity of its riverside location, beautiful parks and peaceful pedestrianised streets it provides a pleasant setting for residents and visitors alike. The city and surrounding villages offer a variety of housing, an excellent range of schools, and comprehensive health care facilities.

Most importantly, York is a place where people enjoy life: in a recent 'quality of life' survey, York was placed seventh out of 145 cities. York is easy to reach from other parts of the UK and from overseas and when you get to the city, the campus is close to the centre. London is less than two hours away by high-speed train. There are excellent road and rail connections throughout the UK, and international airports at Manchester and Leeds-Bradford are within easy reach.

Warwick University

The University of Warwick founded in 1964, is one of the most successful universities in the United Kingdom. As a result of this, the number of students attending is increasing steadily the registered number in 2007 was over 20,000 and continues to rise.

Liverpool University

The University of Liverpool is a pre-eminent research-based university with 18,000 students pursuing over 400 programmes spanning 54 subject areas. Turnover for 2008/09 was £364 million, including £130 million for research. 5,000 people work at the University, including nearly 1400 academic and 800 research staff.

68.8% of our students achieved a First or 2:1 from classified degrees in 2008 and worldwide we have 155,000 alumni, living in 159 countries.

The University's main campus is located five minutes' walk from Liverpool's city centre and is next to the cathedral. Occupying 100 acres, it contains 192 non-residential buildings that house 69 lecture theatres, 114 teaching areas and state-of-the-art research facilities. The centrepiece of our campus remains the University's original red brick building, the Victoria Building. Built around 1880, it has recently been lovingly restored as a gallery and museum. Located on the Wirral Peninsular, Leahurst campus is renowned as one of the world’s foremost centres of expertise in animal medicine.

“Call for Sites” - communities urged to identify land for development

Extract from Highland Council Press Release 31/01/2011

The Highland Council is asking local communities, landowners and developers to help it identify land in the Inner Moray Firth which should be built on and which should not.

This “Call for Sites” is the first step the Council is taking in producing a document (the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan), which along with the Highland wide Local Development Plan, will guide its decisions on planning applications.

The deadline for suggestions is the end of April 2011. They will then be assessed by the Council before being issued for further public consultation.

If anyone wishes to make a suggestion or wants to find out more they should read the Call for Sites Guide & Forms which are available via the Council’s web-site www.highland.gov.uk/imfldp Or you can telephone Tim Stott on 01463-702265 to obtain a copy of the Guide and Forms.

Full item here

Scotland’s Housing Expo – socio economic study

Extract from a Highland Council Press Release

The Highland Council has recently received the results of an independent study it commissioned to assess the impacts of Scotland’s Housing Expo which was held during the month of August 2010 at Balvonie Braes, Milton of Leys, Inverness. The full results of the study will be reported to the Council’s Planning, Environment and Development Committee on Wednesday 17 March 2011.

Costs of developing the site and building the houses were in the region of £14 million. Construction activity on the site created 240 full-time equivalent jobs, 14 apprenticeships and £5.8 million in associated direct income and spend during the construction phase.

Overall the Expo event generated off-site visitor expenditure for the local economy of £457,000 and created some 28 full-time equivalent jobs with related earnings income of £543,000. Ticket and programme sales amounted to £137,000.

The total cost of planning for and running the event (since 2008) amounted to nearly £651,000. The Highland Council contributed £263,000 of this budget and Highlands & Islands Enterprise £70,000.

More here

Inverness Roads consultation deadlline extended

The deadline for the Inverness West Link public consultation has been extended until

Fri 11 February 2011.

Click here for details of consultation

More consultations

At last something has been posted on the Highland-wide Local Development Plan blog

An eight-week public consultation gets under way on Monday (24 January 2011) on two new planning documents produced by The Highland Council’s Planning Environment and Development Service, which provide guidance on the design of buildings as well the impact of developments on trees and woodland.

More info click here

There doesn't seem much detail on the trees and woodland document even in the related news release on the Highland Council web site here

Update

Woodland doc now on site here

Third National Park bid rejected

A bid by the island of Harris in the Outer Hebrides to become Scotland's third national park has been rejected by ministers.

Residents voted more than two-to-one in favour of the move in 2009 after a study suggested it would create jobs and reverse population decline, but Western Isles Council failed to back it.

Scotland's environment minister Roseanna Cunningham has now announced the idea will not be progressed.
"Unfortunately, the council considers that, at this stage, a convincing case has not been identified for a formal designation," a Scottish Government statement said.

Click here for link to Planning Daily

Knockroon - Prince Charles gets green light for East Ayrshire scheme

Latest news from the on-line Planning Daily

For full item click here

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East Ayrshire Council granted planning permission to a subsidiary of the Prince’s Charities Foundation, which is developing the land together with Hope Homes (Scotland) and ZeroC Holdings.

Plans for the first phase of the development at Knockroon include 87 homes, 12 work units, four commercial buildings and a local shop.

The development eventually aims to accommodate around 600 homes together with shops, workplaces and other community facilities.

The masterplan for the scheme was drawn up by the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment.

Council must wait a little longer for its money back

From Today's PEDC meeting agenda

INVERNESS AIRPORT BUSINESS PARK – ANNUAL REPORT

Report by Director of Planning and Development

SummaryThis report provides Members with information about the current financial position of Inverness Airport Business Park Limited. Members are invited to note the report.

1.2 Inverness Airport Business Park Ltd issued Loan Stock of £1.175m to the Council to reflect the cost incurred by the Council in building the new access road to the airport from the A96. The repayment of this Loan Stock will allow the Council to recover its costs in constructing the road, albeit over a period of time. The Council is currently represented on Inverness Airport Business Park Ltd. Board of Directors by Councillor David Henderson, with the Director of Planning and Development attending in an advisory capacity. This provides the Council with the ability to closely monitor the financial situation of the IABP Ltd.

2. Current Situation

2.1 Inverness Airport Business Park have provided the Council with a copy of their Directors Report and Financial Statements for the year ending 31 March 2010 and these are attached as an Appendix to this report.

2.2 The Balance Sheet to March 2010 indicates the net worth of the company as £509,785 and the Profit and Loss Accounts report a loss of £116,439 over the same period. These figures reflect that the company has still to commence its trading activities and is at an early stage in developing the business park. It should be noted that the loss in 2009/10 is lower than that incurred in the previous financial year where the loss amounted to £225,691.

2.3 Under the Loan Stock Agreement, Inverness Airport Business Park Ltd. Is required to repay 50% of the loan stock to the Council in May 2010 and the remaining 50% in May 2015. However, the Loan Stock Agreement gives the company an option to defer payments if they believe the repayment would have a prejudicial impact on their business proposals for the Business Park. In this regard the company opted to defer the first repayment of £587.5k due to be received by the Council in May 2010. The Council was notified of the deferment in accordance with the terms of the Loan Stock Agreement. The Finance Service undertook a review of the company’s draft Annual Accounts for 2008/09 and 2009/10 which confirmed that if repayment had been made in May 2010 it would have had a prejudicial effect on the business proposals. Under the deferment arrangements, the 2010 repayment now becomes payable to the Council in May 2015 unless independent reviews of the Company’s accounts indicate the deferred amount can be paid earlier. The company has no option but to repay the loan stock if these independent reviews provide an opinion that the repayment can be made without prejudicing the development.

2.4 The Council’s Finance Service continues to review the Company’s Annual Accounts to ascertain if an independent review should be carried out. This situation will continue until the total Loan Stock amount of £1.175m has been fully repaid to the Council

2.5 With the Council proposing to grant planning permission subject to a section 75 agreement being enacted, the status of their development proposals will be changed. This agreement is being considered by the Council’s legal advisers, and the legal advisers appointed by the company.

For full report click here

The Minutes of Meeting of the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Planning Applications Committee, at which the committee granted planning permission subject to planning agreements (and which commenced at 10 am on site at Inverness Airport, Dalcross and thereafter continued in the Council Chamber, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness) on Tuesday 19 January 2010 at 11.15 am indicated the following:

The Principal Planner, Mr K McCorquodale, began by drawing members attention to paragraph 7.49 of the report which stated that the Council did not have a financial interest in the development. He explained that the Council had lent the applicant £1.25 million to assist with building the Airport Link Road, a project jointly funded by the applicant, HIE, the Council and substantial EU funds. This loan, and the arrangements for its repayment, would, however be unaffected by the Committee’s decision on the planning application for the business park, be it to grant or to refuse permission. The Council accordingly had no financial interest in the application.

The Highland Council Planning Department Response; CONSULTATION ON AMENDMENTS TO THE MODERNISED PLANNING SYSTEM

CONSULTATION ON AMENDMENTS TO THE MODERNISED PLANNING SYSTEM

Extract

The Modernisation of the Planning System introduced a range of new procedures in relation to development planning, development management and appeals. The efficient operation of these procedures is important to ensure that the planning system is supporting planning’s contributions to sustainable economic growth.

The purpose of the consultation is primarily to seek views on a number of refinements and amendments to the procedures on development management and appeals introduced in 2009. The Scottish Government invites written responses to the consultation paper by Friday 28 January 2011.

Full Response on Council web site click here

Rules of the Game; sound familiar?

Readers may well 'enjoy' some of the comments I came across recently on the 'Planning Blog'. The English Planning System is trying to get to grips with 'Localism' and a blog post invited views on how planning rules could be rewritten - click here

Whiteness Marina; any news anyone?

APTSec is not finding much up to date info in terms of likely development interest in this major site (short of ringing up the agents and asking what progress is being made) What happens at this site may well have long term implications for development in other areas of the Inner Moary Firth.

I did however come across this:

Scotish Parliament Written Answers Thursday 17 June 2010

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an appropriate assessment has been carried out regarding the marina developments in Inverness, Whiteness and Avoch, each of which are within the EU Habitats Directive designated bottlenose dolphin special area of conservation.

(S3W-34124)

Stewart Stevenson: The marina developments at Inverness, Whiteness and Avoch were approved under separate applications, under various consenting procedures and on differing timescales.

The development at Inverness Harbour was enabled by a Harbour Revision Order in 2005. An appropriate assessment was not completed as Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) advice indicated that the proposed development, subject to mitigation measures identified by SNH, was not likely to have a significant effect on the special area of conservation (SAC). The Scottish Government understands that the mitigation works have been carried out.

A Harbour Revision Order was made in November 2008 to enable Whiteness Marina Company to carry out physical works to the harbour and operate as a Statutory Harbour Authority. An appropriate assessment of the Whiteness development was carried out in January 2010 as part of the planning application approval process which specifies the number of berths permitted.

Avoch Harbour works were authorised by consent under Section 34 of the Coast Protection Act in August 2009. Advice from SNH relating to the increased number of berths proposed was that these would not have an adverse effect on the integrity of the SAC. This advice was used as our Appropriate Assessment prior to issuing the consent.

I have also come across this from September 2010

More Success For WDCS. No Marina Development At Whiteness - click here

Bypass or Distributor Road

APTSec's efforts to compose a response to the latest Highland Council consultation on the Inverness City West Link (to be submitted by 28 January 2011) are being hampered by the fact that I do not know the answer to one simple question; does this road qualify as a bypass? As far as I can tell it is phase of The Southern Distributor Road, which has been represented as a Bypass and Trunk Link Road.

Our MSP David Stewart appears to regard the consideration of this road as a bypass as important to the economy:

Extract from

Scottish Parliament

Thursday 23 December 2010

Inverness Bypass

10. David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has recently had with Highland Council regarding the proposed Inverness bypass. (S3O-12525)

The Minister for Transport and Infrastructure (Keith Brown): My predecessor, Stewart Stevenson, met representatives of Highland Council on 10 November to discuss developments regarding the proposed Inverness bypass as part

Col 31976

of the strategic transport projects review joint action plan.

Highland Council is progressing a study into connectivity in south-west Inverness that includes options to cross the river Ness and the Caledonian canal. Transport Scotland continues to work with Highland Council as part of the stakeholder group for that study, meeting most recently on 10 December.

David Stewart: The minister will be well aware that the city of Inverness desperately needs a bypass because of the staggering population growth in the area over the past decade. Does he share my view that a bypass would slash traffic congestion and provide well-needed stimulus to business and tourism? Can he offer any message of hope today as an early Christmas present for the Highlands?

Keith Brown: I am aware that the member is very well versed in these matters, including the circumstances of the Scottish Government's commitment on the eastern link and the council's commitment on the western link. Those options, which include crossings of the river Ness and the Caledonian canal, are out to public consultation at the moment. The consultation does not close until 28 January. I assure him that we will take a very close look at the responses as soon as we can, once the consultation process is closed.

Col 31977

Various comments in several articles in the Inverness Courier since September 2008 have also referred to the need for this section of the road to be considered as a bypass.

The Reporters conclusions** at the Inverness Local Plan Public Local Inquiry made the points:

6.58 Given the need for significant further design work, and the procedural and technical complexities likely to be encountered in this type of project, there is no guarantee that Phase V would be completed by 2011, irrespective of the route that is selected. However, a good quality link road between the A9 and the A82, around the southern periphery of Inverness, to cater for cross-city and through traffic without adding to pressures in the city centre and on radial routes, is likely to have significant traffic advantages. Despite funding uncertainties, it is also important to the overall development strategy. The HSP recognises that significant land releases at Inverness, a significant proportion of which are allocated in the current adopted plan, depend on a new river and canal crossing. Identifying and safeguarding a preferred route for the road in the plan would allow progress to be made in all these respects. The structure plan does not encourage longer-term expansion to the south-west along the A82, but refers to the A96 corridor as providing an opportunity of linking new housing to business opportunities associated with the airport and rail link to Inverness and Nairn.

6.59 The consultation exercise at the time of the CDLP resulted in a preference for Route B, by a significant margin. As the consultation documentation issued by the Council described Phase V as “a by-pass for Inverness”, it would not be surprising if respondents had understood this would be the road’s primary purpose. Paragraph 2.5 of the local plan contains a similar reference. However, while the completed road would carry some through traffic, as its name suggests, it would serve primarily as a distributor road, and extend through the built-up area on the periphery of the city.

And the Strategic Transport Projects Review made the following comments;

E6 Title of Intervention

Inverness Southern Bypass from the A9 to A82

Description of Intervention

This intervention supports the objective to reduce the conflict between longer distance and local traffic in Inverness, by allowing long distance traffic to bypass the city. It consists of an Inverness bypass from the A9 to the A82, building on the suggested link road from the A96 at Smithton to the A9 at Inshes proposed as part of the upgrade of the A96 between Inverness and Nairn (Intervention D16). The extension to the A96-A9 link road would comprise:

Upgrade to dual carriageway of the existing B8082 between Inshes and Dores Roundabout; and

New crossing of the Caledonian Canal and the River Ness (by bridge over the River Ness and either a high level opening bridge over the canal or a tunnel / aqueduct crossing of the Caledonian Canal) between Dores Roundabout and the A82 at Torvean.

Approximate Cost of Intervention £100m to £250m

Rationale for not recommending

This intervention generally performs well against the set of defined objectives but is a high cost, road based intervention which largely provides local benefits for local traffic.

The environmental impacts this intervention has on designated sites, valued habitats, protected species and water quality have been identified at the strategic level as part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment.

The bypass would affect the landscape of the urban fringe of Inverness and may intersect with the Torvean landform which is noted for its landscape value. There are also potential adverse effects on noise and biodiversity.

The most technically challenging aspect of this proposal is the crossing of the River Ness and Caledonian Canal which is likely to have a potential major adverse impact on cultural heritage, soils and geology. High capital costs and relatively low benefits represent poor value for money.

Highland Council has lobbied for the road as part of its representations to the National Planning Framework and a report was presented to committee on 19 March 2008 which noted:

This report provides Committee with a recommended response to the Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework for Scotland 2 – Discussion Draft (NPF2). Any comments from the Council need to be submitted by 15th April 2008. Many aspects of the Framework may be welcomed, although there are some aspects that require clarification or amendment or which would benefit from further discussion. In particular NPF2 should do more to action identified development projects in the Highlands that are fundamental to achieving its strategy. It is therefore recommended that the Council respond to the consultation as specified in this report.

And stated:

We will work with the Scottish Government and HITRANS to secure funding for the Inverness Trunk Link Road, crossing the River Ness and Caledonian Canal with a target for completion of the whole project by 2015 and the rail network to and within the Highlands.

The Committee approved the content of this report (including appendices 2 and 3) and agreed that it be forwarded to the Scottish Government (along with any other points raised at Committee) as the response of the Council to the Discussion Draft of the National Planning Framework. Reference to the 'Trunk Link Road' was included as part of the submission to include the A96 Corridor as a Candidate National Development at this time.

It would be useful to have to hand the most up to date figures for traffic flows since those available to the Reporter were stated by her to have "...assumed modest economic / population growth and that Phase V is completed during the period 2006-11"

It must surely be important to state clearly how this road is to be regarded and where the evidence is to support the classification.

[Apologies for the variation in type which I think is due to the amount of 'cutting and pasting']

**TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING (SCOTLAND) ACT 1997

REPORT OF PUBLIC LOCAL INQUIRY INTO OBJECTIONS TO THE INVERNESS LOCAL PLAN

VOLUME 2 CITY OF INVERNESS

http://www.highland.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/CDD77B9D-5B72-4A0D-A1F6-63A87DC0D637/0/vol2.pdf