Nairn group delighted at response to local place plan drive
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A steering group on a mission to involve Nairnshire communities in creating a new Local Place Plan were delighted with the number of people taking part in its survey during its first month of public outreach.
The group – formed by members of Nairn Improvement Community Enterprise (NICE) as well as other representatives of the local community – was present at the Nairn Highland Games for its third event in the community following the Nairn Show and the Queenspark Residents’ Association’s AGM.
NICE chairman Alasdair Noble said people were very interested in the initiative.
“We had really good feedback from Queenspark residents as well as the farmers at the Nairn Show in July,” he said. “We are having very good conversations with community councils in Croy, Cawdor and Auldearn and we plan to have more consultations throughout the autumn. I think around 200 people have already responded to our survey, and this is just the introduction.”
The project secured a first round of funding through the community councils for a total of £5000 last month, and has applied to the Community Regeneration Fund to help pay for a programme of community engagement. If successful, the funding will be made available to the group in October.
Local Place Plans are aimed at empowering communities to have their say in the future of their area. The Local Place Plan for Nairn, once completed, will be included in the upcoming Inner Moray Firth local development plan.
Mr Noble continued: “I think it’s important that people understand that the first time round is to get people’s ideas and then we will go out for a second consultation to see what the people want to prioritise and then we’ll start to put together a final Local Place Plan for Nairnshire.
“It’s essential that locals take part, and it has to be led by the community, it has to be what people in Nairn and Nairnshire want.
“The big issue is: what size does Nairn want to be? What type of town it wants to be? Whether we want to have jobs and more people living and working locally, and not just be a retirement, dormitory or commuter town. It’s not surprising that the A96, the bypass and the traffic are all part of it.”
Everybody in the Nairn area with postcode IV12 will be receiving a leaflet with the survey.
Mr Noble concluded: “We encourage everyone to fill it in, either online or in hard copy. The more people take part, the better it will be for us all.”
See here for more information or to take part in the survey.
