Confusion over access arrangements to HIE Campus

2 September 2011

The confusion over access arrangements for the proposed University of the Highlands and Islands campus needs explanation.

Blame has been apportioned in various directions, and the Inverness Courier leader has identified lack of communication between planners and councillors.  However, there is also lack of transparency.

The details of what happened at the 25th May 2010 Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Planning Applications Committee are available, but not easily.  The Highland Council policy on webcasts is that they are available for 12 months on the website.  So this one is not available publicly.  However the webcast of 28th June 2010 is available at the time of this posting, so why not the 25th May 2010, which is such a significant meeting?  The webcasts of Northern Joint Police Board 28 August 2009 and Planning, Environment and Development Committee 12 August 2009 are still available.

One reason may be that the webcast clearly shows that the objections of the Highland Councillors were stood down with the advice that councillors were simply approving the red line outline of the Campus and that the issue of accesses would come back to Committee.  This can be seen on the DVD of the meeting obtained by Westhill Community Council at the eleventh hour.  It now appears that this is not strictly the legal position, which was outlined by officials at the beginning of the recent meeting on 30th August 2011 - however, in a manner which gave no hint that councillors had not been informed of this in 2010.  No doubt information and procedures will be improved in the light of this debacle, but it is evident that Highland Councillors are in the clear.

Even The Press and Journal was confused.  It has published on its front pages two different plans of the proposed access to the Beechwood Campus.  The first one (31/8/2011) shows access to the Beechwood Campus from the A9, the initial option preferred by the Highland Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Community Councils.  However, it is the wrong diagram.  Transport Scotland has refused the slip roads to and from the A9, which are clearly shown on this plan.

A corrected plan appeared the next day (1/9/2011) showing the current proposal, which is causing all the confusion to both media and the public.  The Planning Applications Committee deferred a decision because of this confusion which was not of the councillors’ making.

There are two issues.  1. why has Transport Scotland refused access to the Beechwood Campus from the A9?  HIE and HC claim to be satisfied with the reasons.  The affected Community Councils want to hear the reasons from Transport Scotland.  2. are modern traffic lights at a new crossroads a better solution than the original roundabout?  This is contingent upon an answer to the first question, which was the preferred option.

The Campus lies within Westhill Community Council.  WCC has spear-headed the drive for a plenary meeting with Transport Scotland, HIE, Highland Council’s Planning and TEC Services Committees, and the six interested Community Councils to resolve conflicting interests and obtain a win-win solution, in view of the impending developments of Asda and the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Transport Scotland needs to explain itself publicly.  HIE has offered to organise this plenary meeting which is now planned for October 2011 to discuss both the issues concerning the crossroads, and to find out why Transport Scotland will not concede the wishes of the local population to allow access to the HIE Campus from the A9.  Inverness College principal John Spencer has said that a short deferral would not affect their plans.  After this, a specially arranged planning applications committee is to be held towards the end of October.

Update 3/9/2011:
Westhill Community Council has made the video of the 25/5/2010 Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Planning Applications Committee available for viewing or download here.  This shows clearly that Councillers understood that the site was being approved, and the accesses would be considered later.