Provost Laurie Fraser calls for Nairn referendum to decide future of common good lands at Sandown

By Donald Wilson

dw@hnmedia.co.uk

A REFERENDUM should be held in Nairn to determine the future of the town’s Sandown common good lands.

That is the view of Nairn Provost Laurie Fraser after local councillors agreed to “pause” consideration of whether to recommend selling the land.

The latest move in the debate that has raged for months, saw members of Highland Council’s Nairnshire committee agree to the recommendation of a report on the proposed sale that more time was needed to be taken to consider feedback received from a public consultation on the issue.

Councillor Fraser, however, believes this doesn’t go far enough, and wants to see more direct efforts to find out what people really think about the proposed sell-off.

He opposes it, saying the “time is not right” for it, arguing that the 120 responses to the five-month consultation do not fully reflect local opinion.

As the Courier reported last week, the vast majority of responses also reject the idea of selling the land.

“It’s not appropriate that this decision should lie with the four elected members of the council from Nairn, who will ultimately make the recommendation (to sell or not) to full council,” he said.

“A lot of people in Nairn have an opinion, but have not responded to the consultation, and I feel a referendum will give a more accurate reflection of public opinion.

“We are considering the potential sale of land which has belonged to the common good for centuries, and it should not be just about housing."

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