Lochaber Local Plan - Lochaber Futures
The Highland Council this week published Lochaber Futures – a major consultation exercise to open dialogue with everyone with an interest in the area - communities, agencies, the voluntary and private sectors, landowners - to help shape the Lochaber Local Plan – a planning blueprint for the next 10 years and beyond. The Local Plan Area now also extends to those parts of south-west Badenoch and Strathspey, which are outwith the Cairngorms National Park.
Lochaber Futures sets out key issues and options facing the area and follows the Stakeholders Workshop held on 21st March 2005. Comments are invited by Friday 9th June 2006. Lochaber Futures is being widely circulated and is accessible in full at Lochaber Local Plans.
Lochaber Futures conveys a long term vision, a strategy for development and investment over the next 10 years, and land allocations/policies to guide change. Communities are invited to consider their priorities and to bring forward ideas for projects – such as land renewal, environmental improvement and village hall-type schemes - as part of a rolling Action Plan to be updated two-yearly.
A Vision: Lochaber 2025
Strategy
Restoring population and economic activity requires a net increase of 700-1100 jobs and 1100-1300 new homes across Lochaber as a whole by 2015/16. A sustainable strategy - the right development in the right locations - identifies strategic objectives and role for Fort William and the outlying communities:
Fort William is promoted as an expanding centre and the focus for commerce, business and major facilities. Priority is given to rolling forward a land bank for 850-1000 homes including review of the town’s expansion options; promoting waterfront regeneration, a strategic campus of services, new business opportunities; the large-scale manufacturing/transhipment base at Corpach; renewing the established neighbourhoods around new schools; and a package of transport improvements. Much of the strategy will be dependent on securing a share of national resources, including through the Scottish Executive, Communities Scotland and Scottish Water programmes together with agency/private sector initiatives to deliver land engineering and infrastructure works.
A targeted set of actions in the landward areas differentiates buoyant communities ie. growing places, close or connected to Fort William with new or programmed infrastructure; and fragile communities ie. more remote places, with a sparse population, a higher % of elderly people, lack of housing choice, difficulty in replacing jobs and deficient service networks. Scope is identified to expand/regenerate places to help sustain local services in Acharacle/Strontian/ Strontian (Ardnamurchan and Morvern), Ballachulish/Kinlochleven (Glencoe and Nether Lochaber), and Mallaig (West Lochaber); as well as promoting a role along these lines for Spean Bridge (North Lochaber). Communities are invited to consider a strategy for new community schools, key development sites, priority water and drainage investments and conservation initiatives .
Lochaber Futures examines a major new strategic development opportunity at the heart of Lochaber. In the immediate hinterland of Fort William - the A82/A830 Corridors – have potential to unlock land for a new community of some 500 houses, business and local facilities – for which a choice of locations is identified at Torlundy/Tomacharich, Achindaal, Achnahanate or Fassfern; a holiday/tourist village; business park; leisure attractions attaching to the Nevis Range resort and a possible airstrip/rail halt transport terminus, set amongst expanding recreational opportunities notably heritage promotion, golf and core paths.
For further information, please contact Colin Mackenzie (tel. 01463 702261; Elaine Watt (702259) or Neil Huggan (702291).