A community group has accused Highland Council of having “zero understanding” of social well-being as it took aim at the Inshes roundabout improvement project.
Culcabock and Drakies Community Council has raised an objection to the council’s plans to transform the troubled Inverness junction.
The council is trying to improve journey times at the roundabout by reducing the number of exits from six to four.
That plan would create a new entrance for Inshes Retail Park and cut off the Drakies estate.
The community council is supportive of the acknowledgment that things need to change.
But it is less than impressed with the offer on the table.
And they are not the only ones.
‘The volume of traffic at Inshes is excessive and has been for years’
Culcabock and Drakies Community Council chairperson Etta Mackay and secretary Janet Home compiled the group’s lengthy objection.
The group appears unimpressed with the direction of travel when it comes to development in Inverness.
The statement reads: “The volume of traffic using Inshes roundabout is at present excessive and has been for some years.
“Highland Council’s Inverness development strategy has sanctioned large swathes of new housing across the east and southern fringes of the city.
“This has placed almost intolerable burdens on an unimproved local road network.”
The group believes the council’s plans will increase congestion in the Drakies estate.
According to them, it will drive air pollution, increase journey times and ultimately, it might even reduce property prices.
A recent housing development nestled between the Drakies estate and Old Perth Road also does not appear to sit well with some locals.
The statement adds: “It is a view held by many Drakies residents that Highland Council will bend over backwards to facilitate development of a prestige ‘gated’ community in the grounds of Drakies House.
“While at the same time imposing an inadequate, poorly thought-through access arrangement for Drakies housing estate, resulting in an inevitable loss of amenity and traffic congestion.
“The project design unit clearly have a focus and expertise in technical matters but apparently zero understanding of social well-being or community welfare.
“Surely Highland Council has a responsibility to safeguard and maintain the environmental quality and amenity of established residential developments?”
What other objections have been raised?
A total of 31 objections have been raised about the Inshes junction application so far.
Among the other responses is one from Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI), which owns the land at Dell of Inshes.
The company’s recent application to build a retail park at the site was rejected by the Scottish Government’s planning department.
It says flooding was given by the council as a reason to reject the Dell of Inshes plan.
But the council’s own application for the nearby Inshes roundabout doesn’t address those same concerns.
Phil Pritchett, a planning consultant acting on behalf of Aberdeen Standard Investments, said: “ASI do not consider that the council has yet justified whether the proposed infrastructure will result in any improvements in terms of accessibility or traffic flow.
“Other measures such as pedestrian and cycle route improvements have not been addressed.”
Many of the other objections so far follow similar lines to the local community council’s.
Drakies resident Marya Meighan said the plan would create a “rat run” through the estate.
Darren Watt referred to a council official who told him that no additional traffic would enter Drakies under the new plan.
Mr Watt said: “This, of course, is utter nonsense and a lie.”
What happens next for the Inshes roundabout?
One of the key things to remember with this plan is that it will not fix everything.
Highland Council has already said as much.
Principal engineer Gary Smith told the Inverness city committee in 2021: “The work that we are doing at Inshes roundabout will not solve congestion in Inverness.
“Or congestion through Inshes roundabout.
“Inshes roundabout will continue to be busy as long as people continue to use cars.
“What the work will do is make journey time and journey reliability much better.
“And it will control the flow of traffic much better through the Inshes junction.”
Without a magic money tree to bulldoze the whole thing and start over, there needs to be some compromise.
Years of discussion has taken place. Consultations have been held. All the while, the junction continues to be a pain for the thousands of people who use it.
The council will have anticipated some pushback.
It remains to be seen whether it will be enough to force yet another return to the drawing board.
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