Tornagrain New Town details released
Moray Estates has submitted an application to build a New Town at Tornagrain, which could see 5,000 homes and 5 new schools built:
Five schools for planned new town
A planning application has now been submitted to Highland Council and, if approved, construction work could begin in 2013.
Andrew Howard, managing director of Moray Estates, said: “We aim to create a very special place – somewhere people want to live and work and which is sustainable in the long-term.
“We were very impressed from the outset by Andres Duany and his firm, who are leading advocates of a return to traditional town planning and who have moved away from the approach which has led to sprawling suburbs with few facilities.”
This is definitely something that needs bearing in mind for the future development of Nairn – alongside other developments such as Whiteness – because they offer a chance to send a lot more people as customers and tourists to Nairn, as well as potential expansion pressures.
After all, with 5,000 homes to be built, this will become a similar sized town to Nairn – and yet Nairn will retain key advantages of being an established town with history, old town charm, and of course the beaches.
Interestingly enough, in the master plan under the heading “Shouldn’t the growth go to Nairn?” the following comment is made:
A significant proportion of the planned growth in the corridor will be in Nairn. Over the period to 2041, Nairn’s population is expected to nearly double from 10,000 to 19,000 with significant proposed developments to the south and west of Nairn. Should Tornagrain proceed, by 2041 it will still be only approximately half the size of Nairn.
So what Nairn will definitely need to look at is how Nairn can cater not simply for existing tourism, but how it can expand it’s remit for potential population influx via new developments around the A96 corridor – Inverness, Tornagrain, Ardesier, Whiteness – and Nairn itself.
In the meantime, more information on the Tornagrain development here: Tornagrain New Town – and here are the master plans (PDF) submitted.
With work expected to begin in 2013, Nairn needs a plan – NOW!
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