Nairn River Community Council gives an emphatic 'no' to plans for active travel link proposed by Highland Council
Nairn River Community Council has given a emphatic "no" to plans by Highland Council to build a bridge in its community.
Unanimously agreeing that the Lochloy route was in the wrong place, and it did not serve the needs of the wider community – plans for an active travel route were thrown out by the community council.
The Lochloy Bridge plan, worth £2million was shared with the community last month.
Highland Council said it planned to match fund £600,000-worth of house-development money with Sustrans to provide an active travel route in a busy residential area.
While the community council rejected the bridge plan outright, it did agree to take forward its own community consultation to find out which, if any, travel routes were wanted by residents of Lochloy and the surrounding area.
Early indications from the consultation show that the community is in agreement that some sort of walking and wheeling link over the Inverness to Aberdeen railway line is required. But it was believed there was a more pressing need for a road link that included a active travel pathway from the Lochloy area.
At the meeting, which was held online, one man "Roy" said that he had considered buying a house in Lochloy, but due to hazzards on the road, he was put off.
He said: "I do not want an active travel route to be thrown out because of the way in which it has been managed by Highland Council.
"I want to talk to the principle that an active travel route is much needed for the area."
Another man Peter McIntosh from Lochloy said: "I understand the concerns being raised from the community council but I still think there is a need for a low impact route from an environmental point of view.We need to be able to get to shops without using vehicles. For short distances we always need to use a car."
Community council chairman Hamish Bain said: "If this was 20 years ago, before the residential properties were built in this area, it would be a different story. But, we are here to discuss the proposal before us, which is not even a planning application, it is a request for the community to consider the idea of a bridge.
"We have unanimously rejected what was before us – but we are not rejecting active travel.
"We will continue with our community consultation. That will be the document that looks at options for the community including active travel with Lochloy and the rest of the town, and what the people of the area want."
