Frustrated Black Isle communities call for halt to further housing amid fears notorious Fortrose traffic bottleneck will grind to a halt; community councillors warn Highland Council of road woes
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A NOTORIOUS traffic bottleneck cannot handle any more cars and plans for new housing estates that rely on it for access must be blocked, a fed up community has warned.
The narrow High Street in Fortrose has come under mounting pressure in recent years as a housebuilding boom and soaring tourism has sent increasing numbers of vehicles along it.
On-street parking and the narrowness of the road effectively restrict it to single track in places - causing lengthy tailbacks at busy times.
Community councillors in Fortrose and Rosemarkie have now warned Highland Council that the problem is at breaking point –and any housing that would add to already heavy traffic levels should be blocked until something is done to tackle the issue.
Many communities to the east of Fortrose – and as far away as Cromarty – use the road to access Inverness and the south, and residents are concerned the volume of traffic is affecting the viability of local businesses, pedestrian safety and the character of the area.
The community's call came after Highland Council sought recommendations for potential future housing sites as part of it work to revise the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan.
But it received a curt “no” to developments that access Fortrose High Street.
Fortrose and Rosemarkie Community Council (FRCC) was in no mood to mince its words as it bemoaned how past concerns that were “overidden” by planners later materialised.
FRCC chairman Dr Tom Heath said: “Fortrose and Rosemarkie Community Council request and recommend that there should be no further allocation of land for house building within the Black Isle which relies on Fortrose High Street for access.
“Given that there are no suitable sites on the Avoch side of Fortrose this means that there can be no land allocations within our community council boundary until there are major changes in road infrastructure.
“We have reached this conclusion based upon what's happened since 2015 since when community feeling has been overridden by planners and many of the potential problems we raised have materialised.”
Mr Heath cited developments at Greenside Farm and Ness Gap, the latter of which added 148 houses to Fortrose – 16 more than originally allocated.
That has “led to a significant change in the character of our community and that this change has been exacerbated by the willingness of Highland Council planners to allow over-development of the sites.”
Since the upsurge in development “the nature and vitality of Fortrose High Street has changed dramatically” for the worse, despite council planners arguing the increased population led to greater footfall.
But Dr Heath maintains that Fortrose and Rosemarkie are becoming “dormitory towns for Inverness” while congestion led “probably to an increasing reluctance of people to drive from the new estates to the town centres".
“Pedestrians are increasingly intimidated by the danger of the traffic flows and this must detract from the attractiveness of the remaining shops. This effect is a direct consequence of new house building."
A Highland Council spokesperson said it welcomed the comments "as one of many submissions made" to the consultation.
They added that it would analyse all of the submissions from community groups, developers and other parties and that these will be made public on the council's website, "hopefully by end of August".
The submissions will then be considered by the council when drawing up the first version of the new plan, which will be published in early 2020.
"There will [then] be extensive public consultation and an opportunity for everyone to react to the development site submissions made and the council’s stated preferences on these sites and other issues," they added.
