People power looks set to triumph in Inverness as an agreement over a controversial bus gate that has spent years in the pipeline draws near.
Highland Council and NHS Highland were sent back to the drawing board last year after their proposal to link the Raigmore estate with the north’s flagship hospital was unanimously rejected by councillors.
It was dubbed “bonkers” and “torturous” by the planning committee amid a flurry of environmental and safety concerns.
The plans had prompted a lot of anger in the Raigmore estate too.
But now staff from the two public bodies have come up with a new plan.
And this time around it looks like they’ve done their homework.
Why was the bus gate so controversial?
Trees being cut down and the noise and pollution of extra buses was the focus of most of the anger last time.
It was going to result in the loss of eight trees, some of which were hundreds of years old.
The 590ft road was going to cut through hospital grounds, coming within 7ft of residential homes and only 3ft from treatment centres.
Noise and pollution from extra buses was also a concern.
Residents were not happy.
A petition was started that gathered around 350 signatures and a banner was put up at the site.
The application itself drew five letters of support and 49 objections.
What’s different this time?
To address the worries, the route has been re-drawn so that no trees will be taken down.
And to lessen the disruption, the buses passing through will be electric.
These will be part of Stagecoach’s new fleet set to hit the streets of Inverness.
Rather than snaking through the hospital grounds and passing close to treatment centres and homes, it will be more straightforward.
It will run past Woodside Terrace and then join the Raigmore estate where there is currently a footpath at Ashton Road.
These concessions have been warmly welcomed by Denise Stewart-Thomson.
She lives in the Raigmore estate and was heavily involved in the campaign against the earlier plans.
“You can imagine how we felt when we saw this was coming up again,” she said.
“It took a lot of time, energy and money to force it to be taken to the planning committee last time.
Revised bus gate a ‘victory for common sense’
“But this is much better than it was. It feels like there has been a compromise.
“It’s heartening that we have been listened to.”
Raigmore Community Council supported the plan last year, despite a few reservations.
This time around they feel more hopeful it will get the green light.
“The people who were part of the protest last time seem a lot happier,” said chairman Munro Ross.
“The fact it will be electric buses is a positive. And no trees coming down, that’s another positive.”
Inverness councillor Duncan Macpherson is also more optimistic about this application’s chances of passing.
He attended a recent drop-in session at the Raigmore Community Centre where the new plans were outlined.
Mr Macpherson said: “When I went to the public meeting, a lot of people who came said it was a relief.
“A weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
“Common sense is prevailing.”
Raigmore site is key part of other development plans
Part of the difficulty with this long-running saga is that the bus gate can’t be viewed in isolation.
Its existence was a planning condition tied to the creation of NHS Highland’s new National Treatment Centre.
It was discussed as part of a traffic plan for UHI’s Inverness Campus as far back as 2011.
It is also the lynchpin of four active travel projects that need to be completed by March 2023.
That needs to be done to unlock an additional £50m in funding.
In short, the clock is ticking.
But the new application looks like it will have more than a fighting chance when it is put before the planning committee again.
When all is said and done, it should be an improvement. A better bus service for people living in the Raigmore estate and the removal of a major pinch-point for public transport in the Highland capital.
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