Sandown land will not get housing after members of Highland Council's Nairnshire area committee agree to take it off the market and explore alternative uses for the site
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Councillors have agreed to take an area of land in Nairn off the market and explore uses other than housing for it.
Members of Highland Council’s Nairnshire area committee yesterday agreed a recommendation not to sell Sandown lands, which once was subject to a bidding war among home developers.
The 38-hectare site on either side of the A96 on the western outskirts of Nairn is owned by Nairn Common Good Fund.
Other potential uses for the land to be explored now include food growing.
For years controversy has surrounded future plans for the site which had been touted by the council as an “eagerly-awaited development of farmland”.
Speaking at the meeting, a council official told councillors alternative sites in the town could be used for housing and it would be preferred to use Sandown for green space projects.
Committee chairman Michael Green described the report before councillors, produced following public consultation, as “excellent” because it represented residents’ views.
And deputy chairman Paul Oldham said: “I would welcome community growing opportunities.”
The council officer told members options could include community-led agriculture schemes and expanding the existing allotments at the site.
Councillor Barbara Jarvie said: “I agree with the chairman, it is an excellent report written in layman’s terms so the public can understand it clearly.”
Nairn provost, Cllr Laurie Fraser, added: “It highlighted all the things I wanted highlighting.”
He said that a major issue in the town was the emergence of properties which were rented to visitors and added: “If we got rid of AirBnB we could probably house all the people.”
The committee agreed not to sell the land and the report’s other recommendations.
At one point the council had received offers of more than £14 million 15 years ago and, although a deal was struck, it was later rescinded when the developer failed to receive planning permission.
A valuation in October 2020 estimated the land to be worth between £6 million and £7 million.
It was the subject of two public consultations which were held by the council between November 2020 and January this year.
The results were made public last week the report noted that the consultation had clearly shown a strong community concern in Nairn relating to Sandown and its future use and that the recommendations reflected that.
The report, by ward manager Lewis Hannah and Common Good officer Sara Murdoch, stated that the analysis took into account all the feedback received during both consultation periods and the recommendations were based on the aggregated feedback.
The report outlined a number of next steps for the land, stating: “Options to establish further community growing opportunities on the Sandown Lands field are explored through a feasibility study, which will include further engagement with the community.
“The scope for commissioning this feasibility study will be brought before a future meeting of this committee.”
The proposed sale of land did not include allotment gardens or a parcel of land for extension of the gardens. If the land was sold, then the money would have been available for investment in other Common Good assets and community priorities in Nairn.
