public exhibition details

The Cawdor Maintenance Trust is inviting members of the public in and around Nairn to attend a community engagement event, running over three days at the Nairn Community Centre between Wednesday 26th and Friday 28th August inclusive.

The event is designed to update the local community on a proposed £70 million leisure/tourist led development at the western end of Nairn, for which an outline planning application and supporting Environmental Impact Assessment was lodged with Highland Council in June 2008.

Since then, following conclusion of the statutory consultation period, the consultant project team has been involved in ongoing discussions with Council officials and Scottish Natural Heritage, addressing various technical and environmental issues and, in turn, reviewing the details of the proposals.

As a result, the concept masterplan for the site has undergone a number of changes. In particular the layout of the proposed 18-hole championship golf course has been amended to take account of ecological issues raised by Scottish Natural Heritage, while access arrangements for the site have also been revised following discussions with Council Road Officials and Transport Scotland.

Members of the planning and design team will man the exhibition and be available to answer questions.

Including the redevelopment of existing farm buildings at Delnies, the proposals comprise:

• Tourism and Heritage Centre at Easter Delnies;
• Equestrian Centre at Wester Delnies;
• Hotel, spa and conference facilities at Hilton of Delnies;
• 18-hole championship golf course, clubhouse, academy and driving range;
• Ecological centre with associated bird watching hides and car parking;
• Community woodland;
• An integrated public footpath and cycleway network;
• Structured landscaping scheme;
• Up to 300 ‘enabling’ houses; and,
• Associated access and infrastructural works

It is estimated that in total the project is likely to create over 525 jobs, with many of these, including those in construction and services, expected to be filled by people local to the area. The value to the economy is estimated to be a planned capital investment of £70m over the period of its construction.

A sensitively developed residential element of up to 300 houses of mixed design, type and tenure, including 25% affordable housing, will ‘enable’ the tourist, leisure and community based elements of the proposals to be developed elsewhere on the site.