Legal threat over Highland Council plan to limit traffic on Academy Street in Inverness
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The prospect of a judicial review into “economically devastating” proposals aimed at driving down traffic on Academy Street has been raised by one of Inverness city centre’s largest operators.
The threat was levelled by Julian Diamond, asset manager with Scoop Asset Management, owners of the Eastgate Shopping Centre, ahead of an event bringing businesses together with councillors and officials to make the strength of opposition to plans to limit traffic movements in Academy Street clear.
Organised by Inverness Business Improvement District (BID) the Your Voice Our Future event at Eden Court on Monday included the findings of a members’ survey showing while 87 per cent said they were, in principle, in favour of an upgrade of Academy Street, 89 per cent also said current proposals were not the right solution.
A separate survey of businesses in the Eastgate Shopping Centre showed 91 per cent believe the current proposals will have a negative impact on businesses.
Speaking just before the meeting got under way Mr Diamond said: “To be perfectly honest we don’t think the process has been handled particularly well.
“There are different aspects to this but there’s been a real lack of communication.
“We don’t believe that there has been a formal consultation undertaken properly and therefore, if this goes through in a vote in late August, we will be pursuing a judicial review against this.”
That raises the prospect of a further delay to implementation of the plans which have been in the pipeline for months.
Highland Council unveiled so-called 'Option B' proposals for change last November, that restricted vehicle access to Academy Street to deliveries, public transport and blue-badge holders.
This plan was the subject of a series of consultation sessions in March before tweaked plans were unveiled in July, in which vehicle access was maintained but by which it is also hoped vehicle numbers will be reduced simply by making it less appealing to use the street as a through road.
These were discussed at a business engagement session at Inverness Town House where city leader Councillor Ian Brown said: “People can still stop outside the shops they always stopped at.
"There may be different routes to try and get to the shop but no parking is being stopped, loading is not being restricted so we see an improvement and see a larger number of people stopping and shopping rather than driving past.”
Speaking of the reasoning behind the meeting a spokesperson for BID said: “Overall, we are mindful that the matter is due to return to the Inverness area committee on August 28 for the next stage progression vote and it is vitally important for the future of the city centre and wider city that the right decision is taken.
“Many businesses have indicated that their needs and views, individually and collectively, have been ignored and there is a general feeling that the plans are being rushed through without being sufficiently context and evidence led.
“Without an economic impact assessment specific to Inverness city centre or a package of direct support for businesses affected during the construction and post-build phases being offered, means that many businesses deem that it is currently a ‘gamble’ and ‘risk’ to them which may explain why 80 per cent stated that they were ‘opposed’ or ‘strongly opposed’ to the current plans with just over two er cent being ‘strongly supportive’ and 10 per cent ‘supportive’.
“Given that 86 per cent of businesses are in favour of change and a true compromise we would like Highland Council to listen, consult in good faith and take a little more time to work with all stakeholders in order to help progress matters better in the long term.
“All of our evidence suggests that the current proposals will be economically devastating for small businesses and employers, as well as for the people they employ and the communities in which they operate.”
