Sports pitch near Ness Castle Primary School in Inverness approved by Highland Council
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A brand new 3G sports pitch and multi-use games area looks set to be built in an Inverness neighbourhood after it was approved by Highland Council.
Planners for the local authority have given the green light for proposals to build the sports pitch on land to the south-west of the new Ness Castle Primary School.
The pitch, which will be bordered by the housing on Eilean Donan Road and Tarradale Place, has long been proposed for the area - having originally been part of the plans for the construction of the primary before being split off to enable work on the school to get under way more swiftly.
READ MORE: New £15m Inverness school 'to reopen' after boiler breakdown fixed, says Highland Council
The pitch now looks set to join the school in making it off the drawing board after its separate plan was approved.
Once built it will be enclosed by floodlighting and fencing, while an area to the east will be set aside for planting.
Discussing the proposals in the report in which they granted permission, Highland Council's planners acknowledged that concerns over noise from the pitch had been raised during an earlier application in 2019, but that noise assessments had since been carried out.
These identified the need for a one-metre high landscaped bund adjacent to the playing field "to help attenuate noise to a reasonable level" of 50 decibels within the gardens of neighbouring properties.
The orientation and siting of the pitches has also been amended and includes the installation of three-metre barrier “rebound” fencing - a twin wire fence with acoustic pad inserts around both the multi-use games area and sports pitch.
"The Environmental Health Team have confirmed they have no objections subject to the noise conditions attached," said the planners.
Light spill assessments were also carried out to ensure neighbouring properties were not adversely affected by the floodlighting. Planners said this would also be controlled by conditions attached to the planning permission.
