THOUSANDS of families are to be given the chance to shape plans aimed at creating a jobs and house-building boom in the north.
The blueprint for massive development in the Inner Moray Firth area will be the subject of one of the widest-ranging public consultation exercises ever staged by Highland Council.
The “template for growth” includes proposals for 17,000 homes and 11,000 new jobs over the next two decades. About 60% of the houses would be in the Inverness area, 30% would be in Ross-shire and 10% in Nairn.
There would also be smaller developments in Badenoch and Strathspey.
About half the new jobs would be created in Ross-shire, about 40% in Inverness-shire and approximately 10% in Nairn.
Tomorrow, the local authority will launch a six-week public consultation on the proposed local development plan, which identifies where homes, jobs and infrastructure should be located and which areas should be safeguarded. And 15,000 homes will be receiving letters soon telling them neighbouring land has been earmarked for development.
The council wants as many people as possible to take part in the exercise, which is being run using an interactive online document specially devised for this purpose. Development plans manager, Scott Dalgarno, said the proposals represented the council’s view on how and where the Inner Moray Firth area should grow.
He said: “In the Ross-shire growth area, we have tried to address the needs of the growing job market around Invergordon and Nigg and we are trying to make sure that there is the housing to match that growth. In the Inverness and Nairn area, we are talking about maximising the growth of existing towns and the city, but also the development at Tornagrain.”
He added that Inverness Airport Business Park and the new Inverness Campus meant more housing was needed in those areas.
“The detail of what’s delivered on these sites is still to be established, but the development plan gives an overall steer for what can and can’t happen in the area, and the infrastructure that’s likely to be required should that development come forward,” he said.
Planning committee chairman Thomas Prag said: “We have reduced some of the areas in light of the economic downturn. However, we have to make sure we have a plan for every community so that, when developers come along in five to 10 years time, we have thought about the impact on that community and how best to cope with that.” He stressed that it was up to developers and businesses to deliver the homes and the jobs.
Mr Prag said: “It’s really important that people tell us their views about the policies and proposals in the plan so they can be considered both by the council and an independent reporter, who will hold an examination on the plan about a year from now.”
He said much of the blueprint had come from either developers and landowners or from the local communities during an earlier phase of the consultation process.
“Nobody should be able to say they didn’t know about it and everybody should feel they can contribute if they want to,” said Mr Prag.
The consultation will run until December 13.
Officers will then prepare a report for councillors who will decide whether any further changes are needed before it is submitted to the Scottish Government.
Anyone can review the plan and submit their comments on the Highland Council website and the document is also available at local authority service points and libraries in the Inner Moray Firth area.