Highland capital food plaza plan rejected - appeal expected

A DEVELOPMENT consortium plans to appeal to the Scottish Government after councillors refused planning permission to build six restaurants at Inverness Retail and Business Park.

And Mr David Sutherland, the chief executive of Tulloch Homes, who is one of four developers in the Inverness Estates group, is confident the appeal will be successful.

Also involved in the plans is Mr David Cameron, of Aviemore-based Upland Developments.

Mr Sutherland claimed councillors needed to take "a reality check" after rejecting the plans, which would have created 360 jobs, plus 100 construction jobs.

The restaurants identified by the consortium included a McDonalds, Starbucks, KFC, Nando’s and Frankie and Benny’s.

A decision on a separate application lodged by Inverness Estates to turn land at the retail park into a bulky goods retail development, including a DIY store and garden centre, was deferred by councillors at the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey planning applications committee this week, despite being recommended for approval.

"We have been legally advised that we have a strong case for appealing," said Mr Sutherland. "We will do this with high hopes of a successful and more sensible outcome."

Councillors agreed with planning officers who recommended refusal of the restaurant plans on the grounds the development goes against the Inverness Local Plan, which zones the land for business/office use, and would impact adversely on the city centre.

Culloden and Ardersier councillor Bob Wynd called for a flood risk assessment and masterplan to be provided for both applications.

"There are good planning development applications and there are poor planning development applications," said Councillor Wynd.

"A good planning development application is good for the developers, good for business and actually good for the area and I have read through all this and there are limited benefits as it is very restricted."

Culloden and Ardersier councillors Glynis Sinclair and Roddy Balfour echoed Councillor Wynd’s concerns and asked for more detail.

However, Mr Sutherland, who attended the meeting, was disappointed.

"The comments of certain councillors when debating the application show they need a reality check in terms of the need for new construction and retail jobs and economic development for Inverness in these difficult economic times," he said.

"These would be jobs for people in all parts of the city and surrounding area."

Culloden and Ardersier councillor John Ford supported both applications, stating they would be good for the area and the "logical progression" for the business park.

"It’s nothing but positive and it compliments the town centre, so lets get on with it," said Councillor Ford.

The committee voted nine to five to defer the bulky goods retail development after a motion put forward from Councillor Wynd stating that the application was premature pending the formalisation of the Highland Wide Local Development Plan and to enable the applicant to submit further detail including a travel plan, road layout and flood risk assessment.

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