One City, One Vision: MP Drew Hendry argues that Inverness is a 'fabulous city' but to reach its untapped potential big thinking is needed and the best approach is 'to find a common purpose and, crucially, collective consent for a way forward, a common purpose for our city'
Inverness is a fabulous city and let’s face it, if we do not set a vision for the future of Inverness, it will still be a great place to live in, work in and visit.
It will also never be all that it could be.
It will be a city meeting its challenges without a clear sense of place and never really getting to where it could be.
Inverness has been a city for 21 years, yet, unlike other cities, it has never had a defined vision.
No formal debate has taken place; no document has been drawn up to pull together the hope, ambition and identity we want to emerge in the decades to come.
I’m part of that story; I was the leader of the council for three years.
This is not about pointing the finger at anyone or any organisation; it’s saying this is a good time for us to work collectively to get it right for the future.
Inverness is built on the great work of many, both intelligent and diligent.
Planning schemes, some very complex, even landmark in scale, are sometimes almost heroically delivered, against the odds by those employed to steer them through.
It is also a place where a road scheme that takes years to get off the ground will be scrapped and then, in all likelihood, re-established in the coming years.
It is a place where public artworks are launched, then scrapped and redone through a bun fight, with most involved left unhappy.
It is also a place that, despite the obvious need for one, doesn’t have a transport strategy to suit the needs of the people who actually live here.
In terms of establishing a sense of place, major and minor developments have been piecemeal. As a result, we are building a city on the hoof.
Creating a vision document for the future won’t predict the obstacles or solve the day’s problems. It does allow us to describe how Inverness can look in the next decade and help us focus on getting there.
Again, highlighting the need for a vision for the city isn’t about rubbishing work that has gone before or pointing the finger.
Instead, it is about having a shared understanding of why things are being done, what Inverness means to the people who live here and what legacy people who visit here leave with.
As chairman of the Inverness Futures Group, I believe the vision presented here is a good one – it is a starting place for us.
It steers clear of politics, both local and national. It seeks to find a common purpose and, crucially, collective consent for a way forward, a common purpose for our city.
I am grateful to the members of the group who worked with me to create this vision.
They took the time to work together to create a document to describe what Inverness can be in the future.
Our aim was always to start a conversation and if this is not the right vision for our city, let us find out what is.
Drew Hendry is the chairman of the Inverness Futures Group and SNP MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.
To read the Inverness 2035 policy document in full click here
