Nairn Matters

Brae "crossing"

You’ll recall that before the work on The Brae was started there were numerous concerns expressed about the road layout, kerbs, parking and above all general safety. One clear indication of nonsense in planning was the fact that the traffic calming strip was generally regarded as a crossing particularly as there was a gap in the railings and a dropped kerb.  Complete and utter madness. It would seem that this view is now recognised as mad by the powers-that-be as this “crossing” has now been chained off.

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Do Nairn a favour – send a quick e-mail!

If you agree that Nairn should be represented by a single Community  Council – ie. A Royal Burgh of Nairn Council then send a quick e-mail saying so to this address:

ccreview@highland.gov.uk

That’s the address of the Highland Council review team. If you’d like to send a letter or print off copies for others then there’s a PDF document here that will do the job.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/narann/singlecomc.pdf

From a concerned parent:

The recent HMIe report on Nairn Academy provided some positive reading.
But it is regrettable that there has been no public comment thus far on the failures in the English Department.
Surely this is a matter that our elected members, who have offered no public comment on this matter so far,  must now address. Read full article »

The review of swimming pools in the Highlands with the potential for closure has focussed the minds and the activities of the community in Nairn. They are rightly concerned about the loss of local facilities as demonstrated by the Facebook campaign and the proliferation of protest letters. But are we being conned? Read full article »

NairnBairn makes a compelling case for a single community council on the Highland Council web site.

A single community council for Nairn is both logical and necessary: the review team should assess the arguments, not duck the issue.
Nairn town is an identifiable, single, coherent community. It has always been a single “burgh”. The case for a single unified Community Council is compelling.

More details here – and add your own comments

One of our readers raises the following issue:

I feel the matter of the non-replacement of the traffic warden when he retires should be open for discussion.

Who made this decision?

On what basis was this decision made?

With the new hospital about to open and the thoroughfare via Cawdor Street / Road being very restricted I feel now more than ever we need a new traffic warden.

I have nothing against Sandy he is a really nice fellow but has he ever given out a ticket?

There is always someone double parked in the High Street, Lodge Hill Road is like a national car park.

All schools in Nairn suffer from people parking on the yellow lines and no one seems to care.

If the decision to do away with the position of the parking warden was based on the amount of tickets given out by the current parking warden then there needs to be a rethink.

We need a traffic warden – a real traffic warden one who implements the law and we need one now.

Allen

MarieNairn asks:  Where are you living now? Are you abroad and if so where? Why does Nairn matter to you and is important to you? What is so special about the town?

It would be great to hear from all those now living away from Nairn and those who come back for “The Games” or “Hogmanay”.

What are your memories? What can we do to improve your town?

The Scotland on Sunday newspaper reports that according to Trip Advisor, Nairn came second in an online poll of the top-ten best places to visit in 2010.

…the resort of Nairn, on the Moray coast, is about to undergo an extraordinary resurrection after being voted the second-most favoured global destination for 2010. The accolade has been bestowed by TripAdvisor, the world’s most influential travel website, which quizzed 3,000 online users on their choice as the hot vacation spots for the coming year.

Full report here

Concern is often expressed about the speed of traffic travelling up The Brae. Today, it was reported that a cat was hit by a fast moving vehicle. We know how fast a cat can move but it could not avoid this vehicle. Of course, it is always possible that it simply sped across the road in front of the vehicle. A loud bang was heard by shopkeepers but the driver, knowing they must have hit something, failed to stop. While I don’t believe it is legally necessary when a cat is hit, it would have been a courtesy to have done so. The Ballark Place owner was deeply disturbed by the event but we must surely be thankful that it was not a pedestrian. Drivers please note this is a 20MPH zone and caution is required.

Within Nairn much strong feeling has been expressed about the “dumbing down” of Christmas and its apparent replacement with terms like “Wintersong”, “Winter lights”. Much has been said about political correctness squeezing out traditional values or perhaps being overly concerned about offending those of other faiths. I don’t believe non-Christian faiths are offended and would actually prefer us to celebrate the event.
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