HIGHLAND Council was accused yesterday of “misleading the public” over its plans for Inverness city centre.
Green Party members claim the authority has allowed the public to believe a long-awaited single bus and rail centre for the city formed part of the strategy. They say the council’s true intentions are “hidden” in a supporting document for the Inner Moray Firth Proposed Local Development Plan, which refers to locating the bus station with the railway on one site as a “long-term aspiration”.
The claims were dismissed last night by Highland Council Leader Drew Hendry, who said: “It is sheer fantasy to say that anyone has been misled.”
Neil Hornsby, Green campaigns co-ordinator, said SNP, Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors were guilty of “misleading the public” by allowing them to believe it would happen sooner.
He said: “There has been much publicity of grandiose, council-led plans for the city centre and there appears to be widespread consensus that re-siting the bus station closer to the rail station is the fundamental starting point for any significant city-centre redevelopment plan.
“But Highland councillors take quite a different view. In their proposed Inner Moray Firth Development Plan’s Transport Appraisal, they view relocating the bus station nearer to the rail station as a ‘long-term aspiration’.
“This is an extremely disappointing response to address what is currently an unnecessarily complicated and awkward bus and rail arrangement.”
Mr Hornsby added that his party had long called for a properly integrated bus and rail station in Inverness and believed this should be the first step in any redevelopment of the city centre. It is also calling for a light railway shuttle from the centre to the new Inverness campus.
He said: “I challenge anybody to find somewhere that we have said we are going to move quickly to put the bus and rail stations closer together.”
He added that the council recently launched a “major green transport strategy” for the city and was currently taking the land use and transport plan for Inverness through consultation with the public.
Mr Hendry pointed out that Green Party members could take part in this process. Regarding the campus shuttle, he said: “I don’t know where they think the money is going to come from.”
For many years, plans for an integrated bus and railway station have been suggested for Inverness.
Councillor Thomas Prag, chairman of the council’s planning, environment and development committee, said that the bus and train stations were already fairly close together and both were close to local bus stops.
“However, we don’t make it very user friendly to move between them – you have to go through the station car park, which is not the greatest of connections – but this does not necessarily mean everything has to be in the same place,” he said.
“It could be that we just need better foot and cycle links between them and to provide enhanced facilities for local bus services in Falcon Square.
“This will all form part of the consultation on the land use and transport plan.”
Inverness Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stewart Nicol said he did not believe integrating the bus and rail stations had to be the first step to redeveloping the city centre.
He said: “We are fortunate that the bus and rail stations are already very close together, and I think there is an opportunity to do something around the Farraline Park and Strothers Lane area, which are adjoining the car park next to the rail station.
“But this does not have to be the first step and should not be allowed to hold up the redevelopment of Inverness.”