Invernessian Thread

[HappilyINSANE]

Originally Posted by RapidTaco

Yet again the dreaded "A96 corridor". Why can Inverness not build on the huge swathes of brownfield land it has lying empty rather than building way out in Beechwood which is very unaccessible from the town centre. Not surprised in the slightest

Where abouts is the huge swathes of brownfield land only place i can think of is the former dump and its gonna be a gd few years before thats safe to build on.

[RapidTaco]

Originally Posted by HappilyINSANE

Where abouts is the huge swathes of brownfield land only place i can think of is the former dump and its gonna be a gd few years before thats safe to build on.

Look at the Harbour area for a start. It's a bloody shambles at present. It's close to the town and easily accessible for the A9.

I'm Inverness born and bred but the decisions made by the town really get me down. They seem content with bland urban sprawl (Tullochs) and trying to force more and more development out towards Nairn - why? Look at the state of Inverness town centre, you're tripping over yourself with TO LET signs. The site at the old swimming baths is STILL lying empty. The river is nowhere near as utilised as it could be. The Castle sits there as a great tourist potential and what is it used for, a court! And what does Inverness do, move more and more of the economy out into the retail parks and Beechwood. Gawd

[HappilyINSANE]

Originally Posted by RapidTaco

Look at the Harbour area for a start. It's a bloody shambles at present. It's close to the town and easily accessible for the A9.

I'm Inverness born and bred but the decisions made by the town really get me down. They seem content with bland urban sprawl (Tullochs) and trying to force more and more development out towards Nairn - why? Look at the state of Inverness town centre, you're tripping over yourself with TO LET signs. The site at the old swimming baths is STILL lying empty. The river is nowhere near as utilised as it could be. The Castle sits there as a great tourist potential and what is it used for, a court! And what does Inverness do, move more and more of the economy out into the retail parks and Beechwood. Gawd

Does newly reclaimed land count as brownfield land? In any case the majority of it is build on or is part of the marina and associated development. I dont agree with the new warehouses built along that front road beside the courier office. It should be zoned for a mix of shops offices and new housing which could then be continued by future plans for reclaiming more land round the back of the caley stadium and near to the former landfill area.

I walked down Union St recently expecting it to be abandoned from what Ive head in the press. But found it to be clean, bustling and having as many shops as I can remember since arnots shut.

As for the rest of the old town and market it seems almost fully occuipied so I dont see what the problem is.

Dont know what the problem with the old swimming pool site I would personally build another swimming pool on it. Its a bit tucked away and akward for a hotel and lets face its its in the wrong end of town and its only housing associations that are building in that area. As for the Castle move the library to midmills, the court to the library and the museum to the castle/castle st car park.

Demolish that side of bridge st and turn it into gardens or something traditional looking possibly relocating unwanted older buildings such as the 2 in academy st they ppl seem keen to get rid of.

As for urban sprawl need to fill in the gaps between existing development
would make it look a lot better Sratton & Beechwood should do the job without the culdesac boring shite. Will be interesting to see how that works out but I dont believe in any new towns east of Balloch.

[Pious Fraud]

Some images of the proposed UHI Inverness campus from Urban Realm (3rd November 2011)...

Inverness Campus approved

Plans to build a new further education campus in Inverness, billed as the most important Highland development of the next 30 years, have been given the go ahead by planners.

Developed by Highlands & Islands Enterprise and masterplanned by 7N Architects the campus will provide a new home for Inverness College, UHI, the Scottish Agricultural College, Centre for Health Science, a training hotel and sports and community facilities.

The completed estate will bring together housing education, research and business outlets within a single environment dominated by a 'market square'. This is an enclosed space framed by academic buildings with a canopy flowing overhead.

Ruaraidh MacNeil, Inverness Campus Project Director at HIE, said: “HIE is investing £25 million in developing the infrastructure for phase 1, which will bring a wealth of benefits to the Highlands and Islands. It will attract businesses and investment, provide further educational opportunities for young people and act as a magnet for talent.

“It will also be a development for the local community, with green space, sports and recreational facilities open for all to use. We plan to continue working closely with the community as we develop further plans.”

Work will commence on site early in the New Year with the initial buildings completing in early 2015.

http://www.urbanrealm.com/news/3179/..._approved.html

[HappilyINSANE]

Originally Posted by Pious Fraud

Some images of the proposed UHI Inverness campus from Urban Realm (3rd November 2011)...

Thats the old design it will look like the video and pics on here>>>invernesscampus.co.uk

[The Boy David]

Originally Posted by HappilyINSANE

Thats the old design it will look like the video and pics on here>>>invernesscampus.co.uk

Looks AWFUL.

In 20 years, it'll be just as terribly outdated as Strathclyde's campus is now.

Great that the area is getting such investment, shame it's going to look gash

[HappilyINSANE]

Originally Posted by The Boy David

Looks AWFUL.

In 20 years, it'll be just as terribly outdated as Strathclyde's campus is now.

Great that the area is getting such investment, shame it's going to look gash

Hmm I prefered the previous design and agree it might look dated in 20 years but at least its different & a bit of contrast in what is a very boring part of Inverness - windswept fields and retail parks.

[HappilyINSANE]

High-rise plan for Inverness
By Andy Dixon




Bus station

A HIGH rise business district would be created around Farraline Park and the area turned into a major civic hub under ambitious new plans for the future of Inverness city centre.

Student residences would also be built in the area, while land around Glebe Street would be landscaped to encourage people down to the riverside and provide a gateway to the city.

The ideas are contained in a major development brief unveiled this week and produced jointly by Highland Council, Inverness Business Improvement District (BID) and other groups. Although aspirational, if approved it would help guide future development in the city centre.

Other suggestions include a dedicated drop off point for tourist coaches in Strothers Lane and the relocation of the tourist information centre to the former toilet block in Castle Wynd.

The document will be considered by councillors on Monday and put out to public consultation early next year. It will then be circulated to developers in an attempt to attract private investment into the city centre.

“The city centre needs investment to bring it up to the standards we need and facilities we are looking for,” said Stewart Nicol, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, who welcomed the new vision.

The redevelopment of Farraline Park would involve the relocation of the bus station and the library and the demolition of some existing buildings.

The brief states that the area offers a rare opportunity for Inverness’s first significant multi-storey development.

“There may be an opportunity to (re)develop more elevated buildings in the area,” it comments.

The student hub would feature accommodation and a student union as part of the new university campus at Beechwood, helping spark the kind of urban renewal witnessed in parts of Dundee, Liverpool and Leeds.

It is envisaged that the Old Town’s historic buildings would be brought back into use to “re-energise” the city centre and the Victorian Market developed to include restaurants, bars and live entertainment, taking inspiration from Merchant Square and Princess Square in Glasgow.

More streetscape improvements would take place in Bridge Street, Bank Street and Huntly Street, while extra work in Academy Street would shift the emphasis from vehicles to pedestrians.

Iconic public art and seating similar to that on the Ness Islands could be placed in the Glebe Street area to form a city gateway.

Never though i'd heard of anything like this but a high rise multi storey building in inverness in generally about 7 stories tall so its not going to look like New York any time soon. Farriline Park is a the bus station wedged between two small retail parks, the library, a disused night club, a large multistorey car park, royal mail sorting office and another smaller car park. Apart from the library plenty opportunities for redevelopment there especially over towards the old college and police station which are just across the A82 for the site mentioned. Some of the other ideas mentioned here are pointless the markets fine as it is and there are plenty other (empty) bars etc in the surrounding streets. As for Glebe Street i honesty dont know what they are going on about here gateway to what? The Ferry?

[Sweet Zombie Jesus]

YES! About time Inverness became a proper city for the Highlands. You're right, 'high-rise' would be shorter for Inverness's standards but if there's one thing the place needs it's density!

[Pious Fraud]

Inverness campus work commences

Urban Realm 24th January 2012

Work to create a new campus for Inverness College, UHI and the Scottish Agricultural College have commenced on an out of town site on the edge of the Highland capital.

Contractor Morgan Sindall has begun site preparatory work on phase 1 of the masterplan, including an 80 bed training hotel, accommodation, medical centre and sports facilities.

Neil Duncan, area director for Morgan Sindall, said: "After the site set-up is completed, excavators will move onto the site to move the top soil. During this phase we'll be working closely with an on-site archaeologist. Within the next month there'll be at least 20 staff on site."

http://www.urbanrealm.com/news/3311/...commences.html



INVERNESS CAMPUS FLY THROUGH: http://www.youtube.com/embed/hW3qSJZ...reen></iframe>

[HappilyINSANE]

http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/N...e-30042012.htm



Seven storey Student Accommodation planned for Inverness Carpark. Better off with a thinner 10 storey tower with a decent finish. Although this is poor it would actually improve the area even in its current 60's concrete block design.

[maccoinnich]

Good grief those elevations are brutal. It's quite a shame, because it would be otherwise nice to see infill development at that scale, with a mixture of housing and retail.

[HappilyINSANE]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Good grief those elevations are brutal. It's quite a shame, because it would be otherwise nice to see infill development at that scale, with a mixture of housing and retail.

http://wam.highland.gov.uk/wam/files..._A2-391959.pdf

There has been a slight improvement in the design in a resubmitted planning application for the 6 storey student accommodation block in Rose Street.

[maccoinnich]

Heh. What do you know? It's gone from appallingly downright awful to merely bad.

One can't expect too much though from a company who sells itself like this:

Architectural

G H Johnston Building Consultants Ltd offers a high standard of architectural design and detailing for both private and corporate clients. Current projects include hotels, both new build and renovation; leisure centres; offices; shops; public houses; restaurants; supermarkets and housing projects for both individual and commercial clients.

Design staff are supported by a motivated team of architectural technicians all of whom are skilled in CAD.

Skilled in CAD? Hold me back.

[NorthLimitation]

Edit;

[NorthLimitation]

Tornagrain / Tòrr na Grèine

Originally Posted by Inverness Courier / / PLANS FOR 5000-HOME NEW TOWN SET FOR APPROVAL

By Duncan Ross

CONTROVERSIAL plans for a new town off the A96 featuring almost 5000 homes, five schools, businesses, shops and community facilities are set to be approved, it has emerged.

Tornagrain, between Inverness and Nairn, would showcase traditional architecture and aims to be a “sustainable” community boasting a high quality of life. It would take up to 40 years to complete.

“We want to create a very special place, one that will be enduringly successful,” Andrew Howard, managing director of deloper Moray Estates, said yesterday. “It’s very important to us that we get it right rather than we do it quickly.”

First proposed seven years ago and designed by leading American architect Andres Duany, the project will take a major step forward on Tuesday when Highland Council’s south planning applications committee is expected to grant outline approval after members visit the 259-hectare site near Inverness Airport.

The recommendation to back the new town comes despite objections from four community councils and 53 individuals and groups,

Local people are worried about extra traffic using the A96, while community councils for Westhill, Croy and Culloden Moor, Cawdor and West Nairnshire, and Nairn River are all anxious over the potential loss of agricultural land and lack of infrastructure.

Concerns about the scale of the development are raised by Nairn Suburban Community Council, while Highlands and Islands Green Party claims Tornagrain would drain people, jobs and infrastructure investment from other parts of the region.

Donald Boyd, chairman of Westhill Community Council, said: “Our general feeling is that the infrastructure isn’t going to support this development. We have enough trouble as it is trying to work out how to handle traffic at the Raigmore Interchange and the new Beechwood campus and all the developments going on there.

“We can only see traffic congestion getting worse. We feel development is going too quickly for the infrastructure that is in place.”

In his report supporting the scheme, the council’s planning team leader David Mudie says Tornagrain has the potential to be of the highest quality and could stimulate further development of the A96 corridor.

“The concept centres on the creation of compact walkable neighbourhoods with individual character and identity set within a town that would be largely self-sufficient with regard to retail, social and servicing needs,” he writes.

“Its proximity to employment opportunities at the Inverness Airport Business Park, employment generating uses proposed within the development and the proposed Dalcross rail halt are seen as opportunities to create a truly sustainable community.”

Detailed planning permission will be sought early next year with work due to start on phase one, comprising 150 homes at an estimated cost of between £20 million and £25 million, in late 2013 or early 2014. Each phase will be self contained, with shops and facilities for residents.

The planning application was originally submitted in January 2009 after two years of community consultation which included public meetings and Scotland’s first “charette”, at which locals could add their own ideas to the plans.

[RapidTaco]

Why oh why are we building a new town which will take 40 years to complete?! These homes could easily have been built in Inverness or Nairn, in decent, established communities.

[NorthLimitation]

"Corridor" Planning.

[RapidTaco]

Originally Posted by NorthLimitation

"Corridor" Planning.

Aye but why?! I mean come on, it's 13 miles from Inverness Retail Park to Nairn town. Inverness has about 65,000 inhabitants at a push and Nairn & surrounds about 15,000 again at a push. What exactly are they hoping to achieve by building a new town of 5000 in between? Why would they not concentrate on enhancing and developing Inverness and Nairn? It's a fuck up of an idea!

[HappilyINSANE]

Originally Posted by RapidTaco

Aye but why?! I mean come on, it's 13 miles from Inverness Retail Park to Nairn town. Inverness has about 65,000 inhabitants at a push and Nairn & surrounds about 15,000 again at a push. What exactly are they hoping to achieve by building a new town of 5000 in between? Why would they not concentrate on enhancing and developing Inverness and Nairn? It's a fuck up of an idea!

Totally agreed, they should be designing new areas of Inverness and nairn in this style give us some proper areas and density. I like the images that are going about of Tornagrain but its in the wrong place. At stratton they have the right location, density and street layout but from what Ive seen it will be cheap tacky modern design which will be out of fashion before its complete. Roll on the traditional design and layout that Tornagrain seems to offer but put it in the right place not an isolated field at a time when there is no demand or prospect of anytime soon.

I believe this might go the way of whiteness anyway after a handfull of houses.