Members of the Public wishing to attend the above Meeting should send an email to: nrcc.online@outlook.com including their name and postcode.
The invitations will be sent close to the meeting date.
Don’t forget also the Public Meeting at Newton Hotel the night before Tues 17 May at 7pm
A chance for Nairn people to discuss with Highland Council Officials the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan and have your say on what is planned for Nairn.
More information here on our blog
Members of the Public wishing to attend the above Meeting should send an email to: nrcc.online@outlook.com including their name and postcode.
The invitations will be sent close to the meeting date.
The Highland Council has this week on 7th March launched a short consultation, on a proposal to relocate Nairn Library from the High Street to Duncan Drive as part of the new Nairn Academy campus. Local people/library users have 2 more weeks till 25th March to make their views known.
The consultation link is here
Nairn Library Consultation March 2022
The online consultation is open from 7th till 25th March
The online form should be saved to your computer and submitted once completed by emailing to nairn.library@highlifehighland.com
The less computer literate are invited to print the form out to fill in and hand in to the Library before the 25th March deadline
A face to face consultation will also run – but only for one week from 7th to 11th March in the Nairn Library on High St with staff available to answer questions
Please have your say on the future of this important community facility
Some Lessons from Wick – on new schools and libraries
Nairn community councillors have recently met with our Wick counterparts to share their experiences of having a new High School built (opened in 2017) by Highland Council. They have as part of this. had their library relocated from the old ‘ Wick Carnegie Library’ building in the town centre – a heritage ‘gem’
Their school campus took 4 years to build and includes the High School, a primary and nursery school and Highlife facilities including a swimming pool and the local Public Library ( relocated from the Wick Carnegie Library ). There have been many problems with this which we in Nairn must learn from.
The ‘Post Occupancy Evaluation’ of the new Wick school campus, a public document from 2018, makes very sobering reading, along with our feedback from Wick community councillors on current and ongoing problems with the fabric and design of the new building. These include the following
Many concerns raised at the High School planning /public consultation stage by the community were not taken on board by the planning team/developers
A request for 3D models was not provided till the school was 75% built and so too late to pick up multiple ‘design flaws’. This has resulted in costly and ongoing problems 5 years after the school has opened
The two storey library has a serious ‘noise problem, being ‘open plan’ to a communal area, with the ground floor library reception area also used as the swimming pool reception where younger children often play whilst siblings are getting swimming lessons. We are told that ‘members of public complain about the noise from children’ A lesson for Nairn.
5 years on there are already serious problems with wear and tear on the building inside and out, and major storm damage in late 2021 to the gym hall ( community concerns were raised about the ability of the building materials used to withstand the Caithness weather from the start) Here is the local press coverage of the recent storm damage
Issues with road access and safety of parking and drop off , which were not well planned for local traffic and pedestrian realities
Building users saying they would have liked to have had much more input into design issues from the start.
Ongoing heating and ventilation issues with overheating of some parts of the building, and snow entering vents in others
Serious leaks and flooding before the building was occupied due to poor workmanship/ poor quality materials
Ongoing roof leak problems.
Green ‘passive ventilation’ systems don’t work well due to Scottish climate ( rain wind etc)
Design flaws in the swimming pool viewing area meaning the pool can’t be seen from parts of it.
More than 6000 snagging issues, some still unresolved
Numerous design changes during the build, such as removal of a planned ‘cafe’ area and addition of an ‘accessible toilet’ in nursery area which was missed from plan.
High School Reception area had to be relocated due to ‘cold draughts’ – another point raised by community representatives at the design stage but not taken on board.
The primary school sports hall is not useable for shows/performances as too bright and no blinds were fitted to provide a dark space.
Serious issues with seagulls nesting on low pitched( ie flat) roofs. ( another point raised by the community early on)
Finally – it seems that 5 years on the new Wick High School is already too small – as local pupil numbers have grown faster than Highland Council projections. Another concern for Nairn since we have been told that the new Nairn Academy will accommodate fewer pupils than the last one, despite developers like Springfield pushing to get plans passed by Highland Council to build more houses in Nairn even without a confirmed A96 bypass.
All food for thought for Nairn Academy campus planning and the proposed Library ‘move’.
Nairn River will be discussing this Library proposal at our upcoming meeting on Wednesday 16th. Details of our Agenda and how to join the Zoom meeting here
Local residents are welcome to attend and share their views on Library or new Academy plans or other community concerns ( or email them to us on info.nrivercc@gmail.com) Make sure you fill in the Council Library consultation form too.
also see our latest Nairn Common Good News
where we have posted two Nairn River CC submissions regarding Nairn Common Good public consultations which close this week – on
1/ Links Kiosk ( James’s Cafe) lease extension (which we support with some conditions) and
2/ a proposal to sell Grant Street Yard -which we don’t recognise as valid -due to failures in due process by Nairn Common Good Trustees. We ask for this to be withdrawn till after the May Council elections when new Highland Councillors/Common Good Trustees will be appointed to help improve Nairn Common Good governance, and ask that wider options for this Asset should be explored and consulted on including leasing (with sale as last resort)
The next public meeting of Nairn River Community Council will be held next Wednesday 16th March at 7.30 pm on Zoom. The Agenda is below
Members of the Public wishing to attend the above Meeting should send an email to: nrcc.online@outlook.com including their name and postcode.
The invitations will be sent close to the meeting date.
Nairn River CC, as the local community council, has been asked by the Highland Council ‘Corporate Address Gazetteer’ ( CAG ) Team to propose, on behalf of the local community, a suitable name for the new block of 12 social housing flats, which are nearing completion on the site of the former Community Centre in Nairn’s Town Centre.
Any suggestions received from the public will be tabled at our next public meeting on Wednesday March 16th for discussion with Nairn’s Highland Councillor(s) and the developer (if available to attend) with a view to agreeing a proposed name to take forward
If a name cannot be agreed at a community council meeting- the matter will be taken forward to the next Nairnshire Committee (likely to be after the May elections) for decision by local Highland Councillors
Guidance we have received from the Corporate Address Gazetteer team on the process for naming streets and buildings recommends that planning permission should stipulate that a name should be agreed before construction begins. However as we have just been asked to contribute as a CC as the building reaches completion, we are asking local residents for help to propose a suitable name at our next meeting on March 16th.
If you have a suggestion for a name for these new flats – please let us know by emailing info.nrivercc@gmail.com or give one of your community councillors a phone.
Nairn River Community Council and Nairn West and Suburban Community Council welcome the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman’s findings and decision in relation to the Highland Council’s decision-making, funding and delivery of the town centre new housing/offices building.
The Ombudsman’s verdict is unequivocal. Highland Council got it wrong:
• the Council failed to follow appropriate process during decision-making on the Nairn town centre project and its funding;
• there was no evidence that suitable projects were invited, identified and considered;
• the taking of decisions in closed Ward Business Meetings was inappropriate, contrary to good governance and lacking in transparency;
These conclusions echo very closely the comments and objections originally raised by local Community Councils and others – which were ignored and dismissed at the time by Highland Council.
This outcome shows that these local concerns were fully justified, and that it was right to submit a formal complaint to the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman (SPSO)
We believe those responsible ought to be held accountable for the failings now identified.
This is not a minor oversight or a matter of procedural detail. It was not an error by a single individual. There was a systemic failure.
The Council did not comply with its own rules.
Those who took the decisions on the spending of a substantial Town Centre Fund allocation in Nairn were neither open nor transparent.
Instead of using the funding to “repurpose existing town centre buildings… to improve access and infrastructure”, they ignored the existing agreed and approved Town Centre Regeneration Plan and channelled the available money into an entirely new build, a project which the Ombudsman has pointed out, was “unsupported by documentation”;
The SPSO report highlights the fact that “no other project options were invited, explored or considered.” At no stage were any other proposals assessed or ranked – as required by the Council’s own policy guidance – in the Nairnshire Area Committee.
Indeed the Ombudsman notes that the principles of the Council’s localism agenda – bringing decision making closer to communities – were observed by other Area Committees, but not in Nairn. In commenting on the process in Lochaber (which the Council had cited in its own evidence) the SPSO verdict points out that
“…It was precisely this sort of decision-making which was lacking in Nairn. Rather than add weight to the Council’s position, this evidence instead highlights what was wrong with the decision-making process in Nairn.”
The SPSO verdict spells out that the Council’s conduct was “contrary to good governance”.
• In plain language, what happened in Nairn was a stitch-up, decided and delivered
behind closed doors.
• Nairn’s elected Councillors, and the officials involved, failed to observe the principles,
and the practice, that the rules require and that we have the right to expect.
The SPSO decision requires the Council to apologise for this failure, and to take steps to improve the way they operate.
That is about the least we might expect. But what remains, in the centre of our town, is a lasting monument to the unsatisfactory conduct and actions of our elected representatives and the local authority.
It is even more disappointing that those in Highland Council who were responsible for monitoring the process and applying agreed procedure not only failed to do so, but were actually complicit in the actions and decision-making which the SPSO has found to have fallen short.
We believe that those who did not comply with proper procedure and those who are responsible for, or sought to excuse, the shortcomings identified by the SPSO ought to be held directly accountable for those failures.
Without such accountability, it is difficult to see how public trust in the integrity of the Council’s decision-making can be restored.
Nairn West & Suburban CC
Nairn River CC
February 2022
Full text of the 16 page Ombudsman decision sent to the complainant 10 February 2022 is here subject to final review. The final decision will be laid before Parliament and published online on the SPSO website
see also coverage in Inverness Courier 15 February 2022
The next public meeting of Nairn River Community Council will be held next Wednesday 16th February at 7.30 pm on Zoom. The Agenda is below
Members of the Public wishing to attend the above Meeting should send an email to: nrcc.online@outlook.com including their name and postcode.
The invitations will be sent close to the meeting date.
2022 has so far been very busy on the Common Good front for both of Nairn’s (former Royal Burgh) community councils. We hope that this year we will see long awaited progress on an improved ‘governance’ structure for these valuable Nairn assets with the local oversight we have been asking for for 25 years since we lost Nairn District Council.
Its not just Nairn !
We’ve heard from Wick Community Council that we are not alone in having concerns about the way Highland Council is imposing parking charges on Common Good land without proper prior public consultation. It is happening in Caithness too. We will be meeting soon online with Wick CC members to compare notes, and interesting to hear that a Council Officer told them how well the new parking ‘scheme’ was working in Nairn!
Research by our colleagues at Nairn West and Suburban CC has also revealed that Nairn seems to be the only town in Highland whose Common Good Fund is being charged by Highland Council for maintenance of Common Good land in regular use for public recreation, as in other places the Council looks after such assets in lieu of rent.
Accounting anomaly leads to double charging
NWSCC have also spotted two significant accounting anomalies in Nairn’s Common Good ‘accounts’, with Highland Council apparently ‘double charging’ Nairn Common Good Fund since 2011 for maintenance of the paddling pool area at the Links (where the new Splashpad is now), when these fees (amounting to around £70,000) were already paid to HighLife Highland(HLH) by Highland Council as part of the HLH service delivery contract.
Additionally it was noticed that Highland Council had billed Nairn Common Good £25,000 for internal project costs for the new Splashpad which the Council had already agreed to contribute to the project. We understand that this will be repaid to Nairn Common Good Fund.
When these anomalies were pointed out the Highland Council said it was a ‘miscoding’ error. It is concerning that none of our 4 elected Councillors as Common Good Trustees had noticed it.
More information here in letters sent to the Council from NWSCC.
NWSCC letter re Splashpad Maintenance Dec 2021
NWSCC letter re Splashpad Maintenance Jan 2022
This story was also covered by Inverness Courier’s Nairnshire Edition
Parking Charges on Common Good land with Council taking 50% are likely to be illegal
Legal advice has been taken by NWSCC on the current ‘voluntary’ parking charges imposed without any prior consultation with Nairn residents by Highland Council. It has emerged that there is no record of a Traffic Regulation Order in place to permit the Links/Cumming Street and Maggot Common Good recreation areas to be ‘managed’ as car parks by Highland Council. A senior Scottish lawyer ( an expert on Common Good Law) has identified the introduction of charges for parking on Nairn Common Good land as a ‘change of use’ requiring prior public consultation and has also advised that the ‘top slicing’ by Highland Council traffic department, of 50% of parking income to cover THC ‘operating costs’ is likely illegal under current Scottish legislation which says that 100% of revenue raised from Common Good Assets should be paid directly into that Common Good Fund.
These concerns are detailed in this joint letter sent by Nairn River CC and NWSCC to Highland Council in January 2022
Here also is a reminder from our blog of the questions we raised last summer with Highland Council when this dubious charging scheme was first imposed by Shane Manning Highland’s Traffic Manage. It includes a link to an example from Angus Council area of the economic damage charging for parking can do to footfall and local businesses in small towns
Camper Vans at the Maggot ? And still no Harbour Street public toilets?
A Planning Application was lodged during the Xmas holidays by Highland Council to erect a ‘Camper Van Waste Disposal facility’ on the Maggot (Common Good) Car Park. We were given between 22nd December and 6th January to note interest as a CC in responding as Statutory Consultee and we just made it in time to request for an extension till after our first meeting of the year on 19th January. Objections were raised by both Nairn CC’s to this premature Application as it represents yet another ‘change of use’ on Common Good Land without the required prior community consultation, and also presents public health and environmental implications due to pollution risk in a fragile area. The Maggot location is also unsuitable with camper van facilities ‘next door’ at Parkdean, whose profit margins are already vulnerable post COVID, without publicly subsidised competition undermining business.
We understand that Parkdean management (who pay rent to Nairn Common Good Fund) were not consulted by Highland Council prior to this Planning Application being lodged.
Nairn River CC are of the view that any Highland Council spend on ‘visitor provision’ should prioritise the urgent need for flood proof public toilets at the Harbour which could include camper van waste facilities and cater also for the sailing community.
Here are the submissions sent to Planning by the two Nairn Community Councils.
We continue to push for improved public toilet and other visitor facilities in Nairn.
Nairn West and Suburban CC submission
Shortly after these and other letters from Nairn CC’s highlighting a range of concerns about Nairn Common Good management, were submitted to Highland Council, this Planning Application for a camper van waste disposal point at the Maggot was withdrawn and all documents including the application and public comments were removed from the Highland Council planning portal.
The next public meeting of Nairn River Community Council will be held next Wednesday 19th January at 7.30 pm on Zoom. The Agenda is below
Members of the Public wishing to attend the above Meeting should send an email to: nrcc.online@outlook.com including their name and postcode.
The invitations will be sent close to the meeting date.
Highland Council has launched an ‘additional consultation ( till end January) on the proposed sale of Sandown Lands – one of Nairn’s most valuable Common Good Assets.
If you want to know more about Nairn Common Good Assets
Nairn River Community Council