£3million flats plan for Nairn was ‘railroaded’, says residents group
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Highland Council is being accused of railroading through a £3 million project to build 12 flats and a new office for the Nairn Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) using £640,000 of government funding.
The Nairn Residents Concern Group (NRCG) has been refused an audit review by Highland Council of the paper trail leading to the decision for the three-storey development in King Street.
They raised the matter with Audit Scotland, which has passed on the group’s concerns to the external auditor for Highland Council.
But a spokesman for the council has informed the group its external auditor had discussed the matter with an internal audit and no further action is to be taken.
Dr Alastair Noble of the NRCG, said he was very disappointed by the outcome.
“So many questions remained unanswered, and the outcome will adversely impact the redevelopment of the town centre,” he said.
“Other potential applicants had also been denied the opportunity of funding because the council had decided to give the money to CAB for their new office.”
The group have accused the council of misuse of town centre regeneration funding, denial of community rights to engagement, and criticised the way the planning application was dealt with.
It argues the flats planned for the central car park will impinge on and obscure views of several historic buildings including the recently restored courthouse.
Its call for the review had been backed by Inverness councillor Ron MacWilliam.
Both Nairn community councils objected to the scheme. Nairn River Community Council described it as the “wrong building in the wrong place”.
Dr Noble said the town has so much potential, but opportunities are being lost.
“With a bit of forethought and not rushing headlong into it, we could transform the High Street,” he said.
“We could make it an attractive place for people who are needing these flats to live in by renovation of empty properties.
“Social housing and the CAB may seem very laudable projects. But we are not getting answers from Highland Council about who took the original decisions to proceed with this building and how it was to be funded.
“The £640,000 grants were applied for to regenerate and renovate the historic old police station and social work office as a café and tourist office on a site next door to the new build. This included £200,000 from the town centre fund and £440,000 from the vacant and derelict land fund (VDLF).
“We were told the old police station project no longer fitted the criteria for either grant.”
The council then considered demolishing the old police building, but instead opted to build the flats in the car park next to it on the footprint of the old community centre.
Dr Noble added: “In 2013, VDLF funding had already been used on the new build site to demolish the old community centre. This land is a well-used car park and it’s neither vacant, derelict nor brownfield.
“How is it possible to apply for clearing the same site twice?”
The group are also questioning the cost of the project .
“It’s a staggering waste of public funds,” Dr Noble added. “£3 million equates to over £200,000 per apartment. Scottish Government guidance for new build one/two-bed apartments is around £125,000.
“There was a clear case for a thorough audit review of how we came to this. Nairn area members decided to spend this money on the flats and offices for the CAB at a ward forum which is not a decision-making body. It’s been railroaded through despite strong local opposition.”
The planning application was approved in September by Highland councillors.
Highland Council made changes to the original plans, including retaining rather than demolishing the old police station and social work building.
Planning officers said the proposal was an appropriate response to the site’s redevelopment and provided an opportunity to set a desirable precedent for an active and vibrant new street when the Nairn bypass is built.
