Year 3, Week 25
The Brae and other road closures, Academy update, Nairn community councils, council meeting, community networking event, Tenants Together webinar ...
The Brae
I’ve previously had residents contact me about the state of the road surface of The Brae - the little stretch of road at the north end of the high street from the A96 up to the Nairn Bookshop corner - and I’ve raised this with officers.
As a result works are now going to take place from Monday, 4th November to Friday, 8th November to resurface it so the road will be closed to vehicles in this period. Pedestrian access along the footpaths will be maintained however.
Other road closures
There are yet more road closures coming over the next few weeks and, as with previous ones, they are all for BT/Openreach works. These are:
About a kilometre of the C1154 south east of Cawdor and east of Loch of Boath Wood will be closed for 3 days beginning on 30th October.
The U3075 running south east from near Lethen House, Fornighty will be closed beginning on Monday, 4th November.
Albert Street, Nairn will be closed between the junction with Young Street and the A96 from Monday, 11th November until Friday, 22nd November.
Gordon Street, Nairn will be closed from Monday, 18th November until Wednesday, 20th November (so all the traffic will be diverted via the newly resurfaced Brae!)
Signed diversions will be in place for all of these works and I would hope that affected residents are being contacted.
Academy update
I’ve received the following update this week on progress with the building works.
The advanced works contract started on site during the school summer holiday period to form the new access road and commence potentially disruptive earthworks while the campus was unoccupied.
Work has continued since then to maintain progress while the Council’s project team have been working to reach financial close and agree the final contract sum with Balfour Beatty.
Financial close for the entire project was achieved earlier this month and the new building remains on target to be operational by August 2026.
Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC): further mitigation works have been progressing on the old academy during the holiday period. These works have been relatively challenging due to the nature of the steelwork frame design and are likely to continue into the new term. An inspection will take place at the end of the holiday period and a further update will be provided.
Nairn River Community Council
I attended a meeting on this community council on Wednesday night along with four members of the public.
There was a briefing by a Highland Council Licensing Standards Officer on how the alcohol licensing system works which I think was appreciated by members.
Much was discussed through the rest of the meeting including the Scheme of Establishment under which community councils operate and which is being reviewed, the IMFLDP delivery plan, the last Common Good Engagement Group meeting (they were not happy with it), the Highland Local Development Plan (the next Plan after the IMFLDP which is now starting to be prepared), and toilet provision in Nairn.
Nairn West & Suburban Community Council
This community council meets on Monday night at 7pm in Nairn Community Centre. The agenda can be found here and includes discussion of the latest Aurora Hotel planning application, plans for a regular Parkrun using The Links, coastal erosion and flood risks, and various Common Good related issues.
The Highland Council
The Highland Council meets this Thursday, 31st October starting at 09:45. The agenda, report and minutes can be found here.
Among other issues we will be discussing the Medium Term Financial Plan, the Highland Investment Plan, a follow up report to the motion on renewables which was passed at the last meeting, and also agreeing the timetable of meetings for 2025.
Community networking event
Nairn & Nairnshire Community Partnership, which is an umbrella group of public and third sector organisations across the ward, is holding a networking event this Wednesday, 30th October in Nairn Community Centre. Details on the poster below.
If you are involved with a local organisation, and even if you don’t have a table, please come along as this is a good opportunity to network and connect with each other with the potential to discuss and explore collaborative partnership opportunities.
Tenants Together webinar
Tenants Together Scotland is the new name for The Regional Networks and is a national network of tenants committed to empowering the tenants of today and tomorrow, ensuring their voices are heard and influence decisions within the Scottish social housing sector, to protect tenants rights and make a difference.
I’ve been asked by the Queenspark Residents Group to tell you that they are holding a webinar on Teams on 13th November from 11am to noon which is open to everyone but especially social housing tenants.
It aims to to promote TTS, encourage tenants and service users to become members and to encourage landlords and other organisations to promote and support TTS. You’ll gain an understanding what TTS does and the benefits of registering on our website.
To register for this event, please contact Elaine.scoular@tpasscotland.org.uk
Planning applications
The following new applications were logged since I last posted:
24/03922/FUL - 95 Beech Avenue, Nairn, IV12 4ST - Demolition of garage; erection of garage
To find details search on the reference number on the planning portal where you can also find details on how to comment.