Highland Council approves Slackbuie retail application

Members of The Highland Council’s Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Planning Applications and Review Committee today (15th January 2008) were minded to grant outline planning application by Elphinstone Land Ltd / ASDA Stores for the development of a superstore, petrol filling station, 5 small retail units and associated works on land at Slackbuie Farm, Inverness.

The Area Planning & Building Standards Manager, David Polson,  is to report back to the next meeting of the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey Planning Applications and Review Committee with a package of conditions and the terms of developer contributions by legal agreement.

Members voted 15 to 2 in favour of the development in accordance with a motion proposed by Councillor John Holden which was seconded by Councillor John Finnie.

As the decision is contrary to Council’s development plan policies, it will require to be notified to Scottish Ministers.

At the meeting held in the Council’s Headquarters in Inverness, planning officials recommended that the application should be refused planning permission on the grounds of planning policy, the proposed scale of the store and road congestions reasons.

A report to the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey Planning Applications and Review Committee stated that the proposed scale of the store at Slackbuie was “not seen as commensurate with local needs and could diminish the prospect of district scale retailing in other district centres identified in the Council’s development plan”.

The report also highlighted that the proposed superstore would generate significant levels of new car journeys including a high proportion from outside the immediate area and that the impact of this traffic would lead to unacceptable congestion particularly at Inshes roundabout and links with the A9.

Notes to editors:

1. Consideration of this application has twice been deferred. In June 2007 a deferral was made to allow the applicants to further develop traffic impact assessment and mitigation measures.  A request was also made that the subsequent planning application report should address more fully the proposed store’s likely impact on the City Centre.

2. On the 4th December 2007 a second deferral was made to allow the Planning and Development Service to consider the outcome of a Public Local Inquiry for a similar development proposal at Ness-side, Inverness. On this date, The Scottish Government’s Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals issued its decision on the appeal by Tesco Stores Ltd for the development of a District Shopping Centre at Dores Road Inverness.  The inquiry reporter concluded the application would not be in accordance with the Local Plan Policies - thus upholding The Highland Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for the Dores Road application.

3. The committee were advised on the 4th December that the Scottish Government’s decision was a material and relevant consideration for the ASDA application and that committee should await further planning and legal advice on the implications of the Dores Road decision.