Another milestone reached for Inverness West road project
The Inverness West Link project reached another milestone today (Thursday 5 September 2013) when The Highland Council approved the final lay out drawings and authorised the submission of a planning application for the new road.
The West Link will be a new transport link from the Southern Distributor Road at Dores Road to the A82 trunk road at Torvean via a fixed link across the River Ness and the Caledonian Canal.
The Council also agreed to make a compulsory purchase order to acquire all of the land required for the route and senior officials have been authorised to advertise the order and take all necessary steps to obtain title to the land. Negotiations or any claims for compensation and costs payable to owners, lessees and occupiers of the land required for the road will be undertaken by the District Valuer.
At today’s meeting of the Council, Members were advised that the planning application and the CPO notice will be advertised towards the end of this month.
They were also informed that the works will require to be carefully phased to ensure that all businesses and sporting activities can continue to operate throughout the period of road construction.
The road will be built in two phases. Phase one will be from Dores Road Roundabout to Glenurquhart Road, including the new crossing of the River Ness. It is still on programme and on schedule to commence construction in 2015.
Phase two will see the crossing of the Caledonian Canal, including the tandem bridge arrangements at Torvean.
Members were advised that the costs of the road have increased from £27.2 million to £34.4 million as the result of inflation since the project was first priced in early 2011 and the enhancement of the design to include additional features for cyclists and walkers following consultation with the public. The estimated cost of other rejected options had increased similarly.
Council Leader Drew Hendry said: “I am delighted that we are making excellent progress with this key project and that we are on target to start work during 2015. The benefits for the city and the wider Highlands of a better road system to the west of the city which open up recreational and development opportunities are significant and too great to miss.”
As part of the planning process, there will be an element of planning gain that will contribute towards the cost of the project. These contributions will be in the range £3.5 - £4.5 million but the final details will only become clear as these developments are taken forward. Planning gain contributions have not been incorporated in any of the gross costs of the project.
Members were also advised that the estimated cost of providing a new sports hub at Torvean is in the range of £6 - £9.5 million. These are gross figures, which will be reduced as opportunities for external funding become clearer and are realised.
The Leader revealed that he has had talks with Inverness Caledonian Thistle regarding their possible use of the sports hub, which he sees as having the potential to be used by a wide range of sporting clubs, attracting significant external funding, and become one of the top sporting venues in Scotland.