Highland Council estimates that more than half a billion pounds needs to be spent on schools, leisure facilities and transport to keep pace with the city's housing boom
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Hundreds of millions of pounds need to be spent in the region to keep pace with the breakneck speed of housing developments springing up around the Highlands.
Highland Council has compiled a “wish list” of infrastructure projects it believes are needed to best serve growing communities, including new and expanded schools and leisure facilities as tens of thousands of new homes have been zoned – with more to come.
The delivery programme has been updated ahead of the release of the second version of the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan (IMFLDP) which states where and how many homes can be built.
In total the Inner Moray Firth area – which extends from Tain in Ross-shire, south to Fort Augustus and east to Nairn – needs investment of well over half-a -billion pounds, according to planners.
The delivery plan will be used over a period of years to note and check progress against what is needed not just from the council but High Life Highland, Network Rail, the Scottish Government and others.
It offers the best overview of the local authority’s thinking on where development is needed in the years ahead, though no funding has been identified for much of it at this stage.
The majority of the plan targets the needs of those living, or due to be living, in the more than 21,000 new homes currently slated for development or already built across the area.
A business case has been prepared for a project valued at £3.8 million to create new regional sports facilities, including a new indoor tennis centre and athletics training provision.
Charleston Academy has also been earmarked for major extension and refurbishment, costing £15.3 million, with Inverness High School pegged for a £14.7 million makeover part funded by the Scottish Government – though this is yet to be confirmed.
The development of the West Link distributor road freed up land for the development of 2786 homes and also saw the development of a soon-to-be-completed new primary school at Ness Castle, the relocation of Torvean Golf Course and the creation of a new park.
Development of the East Link is priced at £25-£35 million for the A9/A96 Inshes to Smithton extension along with £7.3 million for an associated “Inshes Corridor”.
Altogether the land set to be opened up by the roads development will provide space for 4176 new homes and planners have identified the need for a new primary and secondary school infrastructure, which ideally would include a new academy in the east of the city along with a rebuilt Culloden Academy, already in the works.
Balloch, Duncan Forbes and Smithton Primary Schools would all be extended and suggestions have also been made for a new district park in the area, along with the development of natural flood management measures.
“Later phases” of new community facilities for the Culloden area would include “a new multi-purpose leisure facility, to include a swimming pool and community hall.”
The Inverness South area has space allocated for 2400 homes and 162 hectares of “employment land”.
A proposed £2 million expansion of Hilton Community Centre is proposed to include a fitness room and dance studio.
Zoning of Nairn for 1500 homes, Cawdor for 95 and Auldearn for 60 comes with a suggestion of a £1.5 million expansion for Nairn Leisure Centre to provide a dance studio and “changing village”.
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