Our online community consultation has now closed. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to provide us with your thoughts, comments, and proposals for the future of Nairn. We received 87 online responses, with postal replies to be counted.

This marks the close of our data gathering community consultation. You may recall this process started away back in June 2023 with our initial community survey as the Local Place Plan kicked off, and has culminated in our community consultation in April 2024.

We are now in digest mode, analysing all of the responses, comments, and proposals, to build what will be a major milestone for the community and communities of Nairn and Nairnshire, helping us all to shape the future of our home.

A quick summary of your engagement so far, with at least:

• 454 replies to our community survey
• 64 directly submitted comments to our website
• 181 local people attending our community consultation roadshow
• 690 individual comments left at our community roadshow
• 2 detailed proposal emails received representing both an individual and a major community group
• 21 open Thursdays hosted at the Nairn Community & Arts Centre
• 87 detailed responses to our online community survey

This is a massive range of leadership from the community and will allow the creation of a truly community led Local Place Plan that will help to guide and steer future development throughout Nairn and Nairnshire for the 10 year life of the plan, setting the building blocks for the future of Nairn and Nairnshire.

The current phase of the Nairn and Nairnshire Local Place Plan preparation is counting down the days until we close the online community consultation on the 14th April 2024.

Through the summer of 2023, more than 450 responses were made to the formative Nairn and Nairnshire questionnaire. In January, we met with 39 of you for an in-depth discussion on what the future land use of Nairn and Nairnshire might be. Throughout March, we took the community consultation on the road, where we received more than 1,000 comments and suggestions for the future use of land, community actions, projects and much more throughout Nairn and Nairnshire.

If you haven’t taken your chance to have your say yet, there is still time…the online community consultation closes at the end of the 14th April. This means that, on the 15th April, we will be downloading all of your comments, suggestions, and visions for the future land use of Nairn and Nairnshire, and how you think we can best use our assets for the future of Nairn and Nairnshire.

Whatever your thoughts and opinions for the future land use and development of Nairn and Nairnshire, we want to hear them. Without them, the local place plan may not reflect how you see the future of Nairn and Nairnshire. Get involved…

Your Local Place Plan consultation has been on the road since 4th March, and will finish its Road Show on 27th March. If you can’t get along, if you’ve had more thoughts, if you’d like to take part online instead of in person…our Survey is Live!

Our survey might take you a few minutes, or, you might want to spend some time on it. You can, if you have a Google account, save progress and come back to it later. If you have something that doesn’t quite fit the form, you can still email that in to lpp@nicenairn.org.uk, or visit us on a Thursday in the Nairn Community & Arts Centre.

Don’t forget, this is your chance to make a difference for the future of Nairn and Nairnshire. Your Local Place Plan will help to guide the physical development of Nairn for the next 10 years or more.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Your Local Place Plan for Nairnshire hit the road this week with open evenings at Nairn Academy and at Fornighty Hall.

Some in-depth conversations have led to more than 50 comments, suggestions, and opinions across our 15 prompt boards.

If you would like to get involved, why not join us next week. We’ll be at:

Seaman’s Hall on Monday 11th March from 4pm – 8:30pm, or

Cawdor Primary School on Tuesday 12th March from 4pm – 8:30pm

This is your chance to have your say heard for the future of Nairn and Nairnshire.

The last few weeks have been busy for the Local Place Plan team.

We have been working on our Road Show programme of dates and getting those out to you in our latest mail drop. This has started arriving through your door from Monday 19^th February. 

Last week, on Tuesday 13^th, we presented to key Highland Council officers who may be instrumental in helping us to finalise the Local Place Plan with key project baselines drawn for a future Community Action Plan. Our team presented to 14 officer’s, from place planning to active travel, as well as key service providers including Highlife Highland.

On Friday 16^th, we presented to more than 30 attendees at the Community Partnership meeting held at the Nairn Community & Arts Centre.

This week, we are putting together our media and materials for the Road Show. Our Road Show is a great opportunity for you to help shape the Local Place Plan for Nairnshire, helping us guide future planning and land use. You can attend any of our drop in sessions:

• Monday 4^th March, Nairn Academy, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
• Tuesday 5^th March, Fornighty Hall, 4:00pm – 8:30pm
• Monday 11^th March, Seaman’s Hall, 4:00pm – 8:30pm
• Tuesday 12^th March, Cawdor Primary School, 4:00pm – 8:30pm
• Monday 18^th March, Croy Village Hall, 4:00pm – 8:30pm
• Tuesday 19^th March, British Legion Cawdor Street Nairn, 4:00pm – 8:30pm
• Tuesday 26^th March, Nairn Community and Arts Centre, 4:00pm – 8:30pm
• Wednesday 27^th March, Nairn Dunbar Golf Course, 1:00pm – 4:00pm
• Wednesday 27^th March, Lethen Road Hall, Auldearn, 4:00pm – 8:30pm

We are still open for your feedback during our open hours, generally Tuesday afternoons between 2pm and 5pm, and Thursday between 9am and 5pm in the Music Room, Nairn Community & Arts Centre. Alternatively, you can email us directly at lpp@nicenairn.org.uk.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Nairn’s Common Good story is well told by ‘A Gurn from Nurn’. There you can read the full story (which was originally researched and written by Nairn West and Suburban Community Council)  but, we can take a quick look, with thanks to NWSCC, over how Nairnshire, and the town of Nairn, has been so well provided for:

• In 1589, King James VI confirmed Burgh status on Nairn and conferred what we now call the Common Good land, then known as the Commonties, stretching from Tradespark to Kingsteps to the township;
• the collection of tolls by the Bailies, which could be used for the benefit of the Burgh, led to the creation of the Common Good Fund, which in 1832 became a stand alone fund. The burgh and councils were free to add to the Common Good lands with further purchases, donations, and investments in land; and
• following the 1975 local government organisation, Scottish Burghs were replaced by District and Regional Councils. District Councils were scrapped in 1995. Management and titles of Common Good assets transferred to the Regional Councils, wresting control or decision making from the community

This centralising of control was not unique to Nairn We can see this theme played out amongst all regions of Scotland.

Today, NPF4 and the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 seek to re-establish community direction in planning, giving us all the opportunity to influence the future outcomes of spatial land use in Nairnshire. What does make Nairn so unique is the successful protection of those Common Good lands. Without them, it is hard to imagine what our beach front may look like, what the riverside and river paths may have become, and what would remain of the Viewfield.

Some of those Common Good lands have been leased, such as Sandown, the caravan park, and Nairn Dunbar golf course, whilst others continue to benefit everyone with no cost, such as the Links, Riverside, and Viewfield green spaces.

We would love to know how you see those Common Good assets fitting within a future Nairn. 

How would you protect them?

How would you link them with other spaces and routes through Nairnshire?

How would you increase their value to the people of Nairnshire?

Do you think residents of the town should have more say in their management?

The use of spaces, such as the Common Good, and as we looked at last week, those areas zoned for development by the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan 2, are how our Local Place Plan can influence future spatial decision making that will shape Nairnshire for the future.

You can send us your thoughts directly at lpp@nicennairn.org.uk, or by commenting below. We look forward to hearing from you.

We were delighted to welcome 39 guests to our initial Community Group download session, ably hosted by Planning Aid Scotland. Participants covered a wide cross section of Nairnshire, from Nairn Access Panel leading conversation on Getting Around, to representatives from Nairnshire’s farming community. We were pleased to welcome DTAS’ Alice Duthuille, Programme Development Officer, as spectator to proceedings.

Following a brief introduction to the evening from Alastair Noble, LPP Chair, and Iain McPherson, Operations Director for Planning Aid Scotland, Iain put everyone to work in groups formed under our 5 main headings. A collaboration of organisations across Nairnshire took lead roles in the conversation, with each working group reporting back their top 3 points from the night. Participants had the chance to move amongst the groups at a half-time coffee break.

Town Centre: including heritage Conservation and Tourist Welcome

led by Nairn’s BID

• “our beach is the town centre”
• “regeneration will need a significant financial plan with political cooperation”
• “regeneration of derelict/ empty buildings”

Community Amenities: Health, Education, Leisure, and Recreation

led by Nairn Academy’s Deputy Head 

• “safe travel routes between amenities encouraging seafront sustainability with improved parking”
• “sports facilities – can the footprint of the old Nairn Academy be reused for covered sports facilities”
• “financing and finance”

Getting Around: sorting traffic jams, safe/ accessible paths, parking and pavements to promote walking and active travel, more convenient buses

led by Nairn Access Panel

• “making Nairn accessible for everyone – a safe and accessible route to the beach”
• “collaboration/ discussion between groups to ensure plans can be achieved”
• “don’t take mobility, or access, for granted”

Employment: more local jobs and space to grow businesses to create them

led by Grigorhill Business leaders and 

• “young people, and retaining young people, with viable night time economy”
• “increased employment and job guidance opportunities in school”
• “town centre regeneration to increase jobs and interest”

Our Environment: protecting the natural environment, green spaces

led by LPP volunteers

• “management group for common good”
• “a high quality green environment is good for mental health”
• “wealth of green space represented by Common Good assets may provide opportunities for leisure, recreation, and the attractiveness of Nairn as a destination”

Local Development Plan and General

led by LPP and NICE volunteers

• “joined up and integrated way of working together”
• “new plans to retrofit and re-purpose, not simply build new”
• “allocation of space for housing and business”
• “control of developer obligations”

The main highlights of the night’s discussion were summarised by Iain McPherson:

• derelict and empty buildings should have a priority to retrofit/ re-use to create a vibrant town centre;
• Nairnshire’s beach front and Common Good Assets to be managed as a unified and accessible block; and
• community ownership, giving influence and control, achieved through political cohesion across Nairnshire