A community councillor has branded senior planners’ latest development strategy for the east side of Inverness “old news.”
Vocal community council leader David McGrath claimed yesterday that he and other volunteer colleagues on the watchdog body had worked on many of the proposals themselves over a period of years and little progress was evident.
He accused senior Highland Council planners of being slow on the uptake and failing to get a grip on the repercussions of population growth, in particular for pupil numbers in a city where school rolls have been capped due to under provision.
That view is shared by several Highland councillors representing that part of Inverness.
Planners will seek the blessing of members of the Inverness City Committee later this week for a report incorporating community and sports facilities, a district park, paths, cycle routes and public transport links.
Councillors will be asked to consider the outcome of consultation and agree a strategy, contained in an 18-page report, governing long term development on the east side of the city.
Mr McGrath of the Smithton and Culloden council warned that considerably more work needed to be done on the blueprint.
“Inverness schools are capped, our GP surgery is already over-subscribed and doctors can’t work full time due to the lack of space,” he said.
“With regard to sports facilities, flood alleviation work will put both Smithton and Culloden pitches out of action for two years.
“And Barn Church Road is to be dualled but with no sign of a traffic management study. That was requested years ago.”
The local plan commits Highland Council to preparing a detailed development brief for Inverness East where hundreds of homes are expected to be built in the coming decades along with community and sports facilities.
