Use: Immediate                                                                 Issue Date: Thursday 31 March 2005

The inquiry report into the objections to the Inverness Local Plan has been published and the findings, which will provide a blueprint for the growth and enhancement of the city and surrounding communities from now until 2011, will be considered by Inverness Councillors during a special meeting to be held on Monday 9 May.

During the inquiry, which was held between 14 April and 20 July 2004, Scottish Executive Reporter Janet McNair heard evidence from 130 witnesses and read 300 written submissions in her quest to resolve objections to the Plan.

The Director of Planning and Development, John Rennilson said: "Janet McNair has produced a very thorough and comprehensive report which has a high level of support for much of what we have put forward as our vision for the city and surrounding area over the next decade. Her deliberations in this substantial report are important as the final Local Plan will not only be fundamental in shaping the physical environment but we will also have in our hands a sound policy to use when dealing with individual planning applications. This will help to ensure consistency in decision making and will enhance public confidence in the planning process.

"The next step now is for us to present the report along with our recommendations to the City of Inverness and Area Planning (Policy) Development, Europe and Tourism Committee on Monday 9 May. The decision of this committee will take the form of a recommendation which will then go to the Highland Council Planning Development Europe and Tourism Committee on Wednesday 25 May. Any modifications the Council wishes to make to the Local Plan following this meeting must be advertised for 6 weeks therefore a deposit draft with modifications is expected to be published in the early summer and the new Inverness Local Plan adopted by the Council during Autumn 2005."

The Inquiry Report is presented in four volumes and covers affordable housing, retailing, green wedges, regeneration, the A96 corridor, housing in the countryside, rural development areas and the Southern Distributor road.

Copies of the report are now available on The Highland Council’s website (www.highland.gov.uk) or a copy is available for reference in Inverness, Ardersier, Drumnadrochit, Fort Augustus and Muir of Ord Service Points and from the Town House and the council’s headquarters on Glenurquhart Road.

ENDS

INVERNESS LOCAL PLAN REPORT OF PUBLIC LOCAL INQUIRY

PRESS BRIEFING

 Background – Inquiry and Procedures

 The Inquiry - into objections to the Inverness Local Plan - was held between April and July 2004. The recommendations of the of the Inquiry Reporter, Miss J McNair, will be considered at a special meeting of the City of Inverness and Area Planning (Policy) Development Europe and Tourism Committee on 9^th May 2005 and by the Highland Council Planning Development Europe and Tourism Committee on 25^th May. The decision of the Area Committee will take the form of a recommendation to the HQ Committee.

 The Council requires to consider the further modifications it wishes to make to the Local Plan in view of the outcome of the Inquiry. Such modifications are required to be advertised in accordance with statute for a further period of 6 weeks before the Plan may be adopted by the Council. The Deposit Draft with Modifications (2) version of the Plan is expected to be published in the early summer and the Council would expect to adopt the new Inverness Local Plan during Autumn 2005.

 Availability of Inquiry Report

 The Report of Public Local Inquiry will be available at the Council’s web site www.highland.gov.uk from Friday 1^st April 2005. The Report will be available for reference at the Service Points in Inverness, Ardersier, Drumnadrochit, Fort Augustus and Muir of Ord, and from the Council Offices at 1-3 Church St., Inverness, the Town House, Inverness and the Highland Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness from Monday 4^th April 2005. Copies of the Inquiry Report can be obtained from the Planning and Development Service (Steven MacDonald 702268) at a cost of £35/£10 (CD).

 REPORT OF PUBLIC LOCAL INQUIRY

BRIEFING: MAIN ISSUES

Inquiry Report

 The Inquiry Report is presented in four volumes: Reporter has presented the Inquiry Report in three parts:

A synopsis of the objections in respect of each issue is set out in the Report.

 Vol. One: General Policies and Other General Issues

 Affordable Housing

 The Reporter endorses the Council’s policy and its legitimacy in the context of the Local Plan, planning agreements and developer contributions. The Reporter accepts there is significant unmet need in Inverness, that buoyant market conditions raise values and restrict agency providers, that the land allocations are intended to address the affordable housing need and that sustainable mixed urban communities are entirely justified.

 The Reporter concludes that policy should provide clarity on the scale of needs – the Housing Needs Assessment estimates 330-410 affordable homes per annum are required in the Inverness Area to meet outstanding needs - and that the Plan should contain a 25% “target” proportion for affordable homes as part of private sector proposals, applicable where proposals comprise 10 units or more, and that constructive dialogue with the building industry should continue.

 Developer Contributions

 The Reporter accepts the role of developer contributions in implementing the strategy for Inverness: specifically that expansion of the City will require public/private partnership, that Development Briefs/Masterplans are appropriate mechanisms, and that contributions may be sought to address existing deficiencies. The Reporter recommends a Developer Contributions Development Plan Policy Guideline setting out the principles and procedures to apply in the calculation of contributions.

 Vol. Two: City of Inverness

 Retailing

The Reporter endorses the structure of retailing in Inverness: the primacy of the City Centre and scope for redevelopment and regeneration, the hierarchy within and outwith the City including competitive shopping centres in the Inner Moray Firth towns, the role of existing Retail Parks and the function of district/neighbourhood centres as part of a sustainable City. The Reporter recommends that these principles be elaborated in the Plan to underpin the preferred locations for future convenience and bulky goods facilities. 

As regards convenience shopping (ie. foodstores), the Reporter supports the Council in promoting facilities within district centres and in close proximity to future population. The Reporter addresses the case made for competing locations which were the subject of objections ie. Ness-side, Inshes, Culloden and Longman Bay and concludes that scope exists to expand the District Centre at Ness-side subject to protecting the SDR, housing layout and mix of community facilities. However, the Reporter finds no case for additional major food retailing at Culloden, which is presently served by existing stores to the east of the City, at Longman Bay, which is out-of-centre, remote and would increase car travel, or at Inshes, where open space facilities, the recreational needs of the developing neighbourhood and traffic safety take precedence. The latter recommendation accords with the recent Appeal decision and refusal of planning permission in respect of a proposal by the discount operator Lidl at Inshes.

As regards bulky goods (house-hold/warehouse items), the Reporter concludes that the Plan should make provision for a further 19,000 sq. m. net floorspace to 2011. The Reporter considers the Railyard/A82-Longman “core”, given existing large scale retailing and capability to link with the City Centre would be the most appropriate location for further development outwith the established Retail Parks. Responding to representations which promoted competitor sites at Inshes, A82/Longman, Torvean, Longman Bay and Stratton,  the Reporter does not regard any of these as acceptable, concluding that land immediately east of the Retail Park at Inshes is valuable to the City’s landscape setting and merits safeguarding from significant retail development, that there are overriding “sustainability” and Green Wedge/visual disadvantages at Torvean and Longman Bay, and that retailing at Stratton would be opportunistic and disadvantage the City Centre. It is for the Council’s consideration in due course whether it wishes to be proactive in identifying any further opportunities for bulky goods shopping.

Notwithstanding the Reporter’s endorsement of the Council’s preferred locations for convenience and bulky goods provisions, the essence of the recommendation contained in the Inquiry Report involves adjustment of policy to:  

- convenience shopping within defined District and Neighbourhood Centres (supermarket or superstore) at a scale commensurate with local needs. Such locations will not be regarded as town centres 

- bulky goods/warehouse retail floorspace within the established retail parks at Telford-Carse, Inshes and West Seafield and in the absence of suitable edge-of-centre sites at these locations at the Rail Yard and within a defined area of the Longman/A82 core. Any planning permissions granted in these locations will be restricted to bulky goods only

 - proposals outwith this framework will be rigorously assessed against considerations (a)-(k) in paragraph 45 of NPPG 8. All proposals for retail development over 2,500 sq m gross will require to be the subject of a Retail Impact Assessment.

 Southern Distributor Road

 Route C - promoted by the Council at the Inquiry - is endorsed as the appropriate alignment for Phase V of the SDR. Whilst a second canal crossing would be an integral part of the route from the outset, the Reporter agrees the means by which this would be achieved will be subject to further detailed technical investigation and should not be specified at this stage. However, the Reporter considers it appropriate for the Council to appraise the need for dualling prior to committing a Phase V scheme.

 The Reporter accepts the balance of the arguments that Route C - in attracting more cross-City journeys and relieving pressure points to a greater extent than the options - best fulfils the function of a distributor road.

 In addition, the impact of Route C on its wider surroundings would be less significant than Routes A or B, although the localised effects of Route C on the canal, towpath and archaeology are for detailed investigation and the “highest standards” of design. Routes A and B would perform less well in traffic terms, require substantial earthworks and have a significant visual impact on Holm and Ness-side. Whilst these routes would not significantly affect recreational facilities, the policy attaching to Route C commits the Council to relocating displaced facilities.

 Routes A and B would constrain the layout of adjoining development and involve greater land take at Ness-side. Route C associates with development at Torvean and facilitates the release of further allocated land at Charleston.

 Expansion

 The Reporter endorses the expansion strategy for the City and provision for a further 4,000+ homes in respect of which objectors had opposed major land allocations at Westhill, Ness Castle-Ness-side and (subject to Phase V SDR) Charleston.  

 Green Wedges

 The policy safeguarding six structural green wedges from development through the City Partnership-Greenspace was challenged in some twelve locations around the periphery of Inverness. Objectors promoted housing and business alternatives.

The Reporter has prefaced consideration of these objections by concluding that the stock of housing land with planning permission or identified in the Local Plan is sufficient to comply with the Structure Plan. However, the Reporter recognises that certain qualitative factors relating to market circumstances, location and phasing of development, may have justified an increase in the choice of land particularly where wider community benefits or improvements to the urban edge might have ensued.

 In the event, the Reporter has found wholly in favour of the Local Plan Green Wedge provisions and against objectors at Torbreck, Druid Temple, Milton of Leys, Easterfield, Lower Muckovie, Easter Muckovie, Cradlehall, Ashton, Viewhill and Beechwood (between Cradlehall and A9). The Reporter recommends that 7.0 ha. of land at Beechwood east of the railway adjoining Inverness Retail and Business Park is allocated for business purposes and that 5.5 ha. at Leachkin and 2.0 ha. at Slacknamarnock is allocated for housing.

 Regeneration

 The inquiry considered objections to the proposed Action Areas at Craig Dunain, Ashton, Longman Bay and Glenurquhart Road/Rail Yard. The Reporter’s conclusions support the Local Plan in each case, subject to some detailed adjustment.  

 The Reporter supports the mixed-use/urban village concept promoted by the Council on 23 ha. of land at Longman Bay. The Reporter considers that this is a high profile “brownfield” location where failure to promote development would have amounted to a missed opportunity, that the Council has suitably balanced high value activities required to support regeneration with recreation and nature conservation, and that a Development Brief/Master Plan is the appropriate vehicle for a remediation strategy. The Reporter, at Ashton considers the Plan should convey a clearer indication of activities likely to be suitable, at Glenurquhart Road, endorses the vision of an Arts/Cultural Quarter, and at Craig Dunain, considers the Plan should be updated to convey the terms of the most recent and approved “mixed use/housing” proposal.

 Vol. Three: The Hinterland and Rural Development Area

 A96 Corridor:

 Airport Major Business, Freight Park, Transport Interchange and Supporting Facilities

 Further to the major economic initiative promoted by HIAL, Moray Estates, the agency partners HIE/INE and the Council, local residents raised objections about the viability and sustainability of the proposals.

 The Reporter notes the land allocations for development at some 70 ha, exceed the Structure Plan, that the feasibility study underpinning the economic development initiative includes integrated multi-modal transport facilities; and that there should be some expectation that the road/rail/air cargo distribution facilities are realistic and the business and industrial aspirations are sustainable in transport terms, before confirming the land allocations. There should be a strategic view of the Inner Moray Firth area to determine the best locations for sustainable economic development.

 The Local Plan is founded on the Structure Plan which identifies the airport for business/distribution and multi-modal transport facilities; and the A96 corridor as a location for high quality economic development. The economic development initiative is part of a long term planning framework for the corridor, with potential to make a major contribution to the regional economy over the next 50 years. This is a unique location for inter-modal transport facilities which are dependent on national transport commitments, significant resources and a critical mass of development and activities. The Local Plan protects and promotes such opportunities and is consistent with the Reporter’s interpretation that a degree of flexibility is important in a project of this scale and complexity, and that a Masterplan would deal with phasing including transport related infrastructure.

 Matters have evolved significantly over the 12 months since the PLI commenced, notably several important planning initiatives provide a framework for addressing concerns:

 Hinterland

 Housing in the Countryside

 The Reporter concludes that there should continue to be opportunities for housing within identified rural settlements but tighter control on development in the wider countryside. This recommendation will require to be assimilated in the context of the recently published SPP15 Rural Development which updates national policy.

 Whilst the potential at Cabrich, Culburnie, Balnafoich, Daviot East, Ardendrain, Leanach, Scaniport and Upper Myrtlefield is retained as proposed by the Council, restrictions are recommended at Nairnside, Lentran, Easter Clunes, Drumbuie and Bunloit (Glenurquhart).

 Settlements

 The Reporter endorses and recommends tightening the principle of policy which seeks to control the rate and scale of expansion in communities within the Hinterland.

 The outcome of the Inquiry for individual settlements provides: at Drumnadrochit, no further allocation of housing land at Benleva or Balmacaan, infill at Lewiston and Milton, as proposed; and at Beauly, that development of land west of Croyard Road be subject to Flood Risk Assessment. At Dores, the recommendation is to delete any potential for development opposite the Glebe and to reserve land for a primary school, housing and cemetery extension adjacent to the Church, at Kirkhill, to provide for five houses at Achnagairn, and at Kiltarlity, to recognize the scope for housing at Glebe Farm and Bruach Mill/the sawmill. In many smaller communities where capacity for drainage is limited, the Reporter recommends further discussion with Scottish Water and SEPA prior to concluding the Plan.

 Rural Development Area

 In Fort Augustus, the land allocations at Market Hill and the Old Convent are sustained and the potential for mixed use development at the Village Centre reinstated. A flexible approach to housing in the countryside in the Rural Development Area is endorsed and adjustments to the detail of policy in Tomatin, Invermoriston, Balnain and Dalchreichart recommended.

Date Last updated : 04/04/05