CHARLES BANNERMAN: Tell us what will happen if all these houses are built
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The unseemly scramble to build in Inverness, especially round its southern periphery, is downright breathtaking.
For instance Tulloch Homes, their 800-house development between Dores Road and the West Link well under way, are now hoping to put another 800 beside Milton of Leys. Kirkwood Homes are also looking at a similar number next door at Fairways, while Lidl want a store on the brownfield site at Inshes.
There’s a great deal more, but these three developments alone represent thousands of houses. Average UK home occupancy is 2.37 per dwelling, so each 800-unit development would hold around 1900 people – a bigger population than Fortrose.
Tulloch and Kirkwood recently held separate public consultations about their proposed adjacent developments with a combined population the same as Invergordon. I went in person to the Kirkwood one since the Tulloch consultation was online.
Sorry to be cynical but I discovered early in the pandemic that online meetings are excellent means of dodging awkward questions and reducing the impact of anyone challenging anything.
Having battled my way through Kirkwood’s display board of tortuously worded and fundamentally opaque answers to FAQs, I realised that the core issue remained untouched, so I engaged with two of the team on hand to provide answers. However, they were unfortunately unable to clarify the implications of their plans on already chaotic Southern Distributor Road (SDR) traffic, a question familiar to regular readers.
Incredibly, this is because they don’t apparently look at traffic problems at this early stage of pre-planning consultation and, in the best traditions of Pontius Pilate, they say it’s up to Highland Council to make observations if they envisage a problem.
The display did suggest a whole new roundabout on the only decent stretch of the SDR left between those at Fairways and Dows, where there would also be other slip roads. On increased risk of gridlock and provision for a horde of extra pedestrians trying to cross the SDR, they could reveal not a jot.
So Kirkwood currently seem to be trying to convince people that their proposed development is a good idea, while completely ducking the major and blindingly obvious issue of traffic on a notoriously crowded road. That’s sort of like proposing the launch of a boat before knowing if it will float.
However, as with Lidl, there may be an uphill struggle here, since the council have designated Fairways as a green area so the proposal contradicts their planning strategy.
I don’t have a problem with the principle of something more than green grass on at least part of Fairways. However, the traffic implications must be sorted first and I’m not sure that suggesting dualling the SDR would be especially popular at council HQ.
And that’s just one of a plethora of proposed developments scatter-gunned around this city, with developers seemingly engaging in a mad scramble for all manner of planning permissions.
I would really feel a lot more comfortable if the public were told how all of this, if approved, will be adequately fed, not only by roads but by all manner of other infrastructure already seriously lacking elsewhere in Inverness.
What do you think? Email newsdesk@hnmedia.co.uk
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