Decision day around corner for key Nairn site – the 38-hectare Sandown Farm Lands on the road into the town – over whether or not to proceed with marketing it for housing
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D-Day is looming for a key Nairn site.
The area’s four Highland councillors are to be presented with a report next week from the local authority’s common good officer which will recommend whether or not to proceed with marketing the 38-hectare Sandown Farm Lands site for housing.
Pressure has been mounting on the council from Nairn West and Suburban Community Council which wants to block the wholesale sell-off of the land.
And one of Nairn’s four councillors, Provost Laurie Fraser, has already voiced his opposition to any sale.
In 2006 a deal to sell the land to Deveron Homes for £22 million collapsed when the company folded.
In October 2020 the value of the site had plummeted to between £6 million and £7 million.
Nairn area committee chairman, Councillor Tom Heggie, has said there is a desperate need for more social housing in Nairn, with Sandown the only site available, though Springfield Homes recently revealed it is preparing a blueprint for a 650-home development east of Nairn which would include provision for social and affordable homes.
Cllr Heggie rejected community council claims that a consultation process on Sandown, which ended in March, was simply a box-ticking exercise, with a developer already waiting in the wings.
“We have yet to get the final report and we have had no prior briefing,” he said.
“It was hoped we would have had it sooner but there have been so many respondents to the consultation and two individuals have been questioning the structure of common good funds through Freedom of Information requests and that has taken up a bit of time.
“If we get a positive response from the officer there are likely to be three options on the table: One for approval to proceed – but then it would have to go to the sheriff court so there would be a legal decision to be made and objectors would have the opportunity to challenge that in court.
“The second option would be, if there were challenges raised by respondents, we would go back to consultation and see if these could be overcome.
“The third option would be simply not to proceed if it was felt that was appropriate.”
Retired GP Joan Noble,who is strongly opposed to any sale of Sandown, has carried out extensive research into Nairn’s common good assets and their history.
She was appointed as an associate member of the community council and has been advising them on Sandown.
She said: “Sandown has belonged to the town since 1589, and should not be sold off in its entirety to a volume builder.
“A Sandown Charrette (public meetings held in 2012 to consider a design for the site) suggested several different land uses for different areas, not total sale.
“No effort has been made to look at other more profitable and community-inclusive options such as leasing or selling smaller areas or plots, retaining community ownership of the proposed green spaces and leisure areas, providing a gateway feature for tourists approaching the town, leasing for employment or renewable energy uses.
“The only option on the table is the poorest value both in money and community benefit terms.”
A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “Sandown Lands form part of the common good property of the former Burgh of Nairn. The council had extended the public consultation period, that closed on February 26, 2021, by an additional six weeks to allow for the fullest community involvement. Officers are working hard to collate and review all comments received.
“Should support for the proposal be achieved, this would allow the council to move quickly to secure best possible value for the land and assist Nairn in recovery and rejuvenation in the wake of Covid.”
