Plans for new railway halt at wood panel manufacturer are agreed by Highland Council but the time of operation at the ex-Norbord base was curtailed at the weekend
Plans for a new railway halt at the wood panel manufacturer West Fraser Europe Ltd have been agreed by Highland Council in what will be a boost for the company.
But the operational times at the ex-Norbord base just outside Inverness were curtailed at the weekend by an amendment from Councillor Morven Reid.
The construction of a rail sidings yard including a connection to the main rail line and hard standing, an access road, parking, fencing, drainage and landscaping.
The firm previously said development is “essential” for the long-term sustainability of the business and cut carbon emissions by switching from road to rail for transport.
The sidings would be located around 560m to the south of the existing Aberdeen–Inverness rail line, with a connection to the main line to the west.
There would also be a gantry crane and/or a reach stacker to carry out the loading and unloading of containers but the times of operation were a problem.
According to the planning report “the loading and unloading of containers to and from freight trains will be between the hours of 7am and 8pm, Monday to Saturday.”
It added that “as such, impact on residential receptors would be temporally limited and short-term in nature.”
Cllr Reid disagreed and her amendment cut those hours on Saturdays down to 8am-1pm in a move unanimously backed by her fellow councillors.
Council planners stated in the report for the meeting members of the south planning application committee that: “An area of woodland measuring 2.36 hectares will require to be felled, with replacement planting on a like-for-like basis within the application site boundary to compensate for this.
“In addition, proposals now also include measures to manage an 8ha area of conifer woodland adjacent to the site to create conditions conducive to the development of an ancient woodland.”
They add: “The applicant’s supporting Planning Statement indicates that the development will greatly contribute to the creation of a sustainable operational future for the West Fraser site. It is anticipated that approximately 20,000 HGV movements will be removed from the road network in favour of transportation by rail and that CO2 emission reductions are predicted to be in the region of 9000 tonnes.”
