Watchdog wants talks on Aviemore all-weather pitch plan
AVIEMORE Community Council is asking Highland Council to carry out a public consultation with locals over plans for an all-weather football pitch in the village.
Members have now met with planners from the Cairngorms National Park Authority to discuss the local authority’s application for the facility near to the new £11.5 community school being built at Muirton.
Following that, the watchdog now wants the council to canvass local opinon before proceeding with their proposals.
Mr Bill Lobban, vice-chairman of Aviemore Community Council, said: "Any consultation which may have been carried out can only have been with a narrow section of the community, if at all."
He said that it was important that prior to the determination that the village’s needs and aspirations for sports facilities were ascertained.
The council has been accused by nearby residents of moving the goalposts after submitting the plans for the synthetic football pitch with 16-metre-high floodlighting and a tall boundary fence.
There has been widepread concern among local residents, who have said it will affect their house values and disturb the peace and quiet of their once quiet street.
The local authority had initially planned to put in a traditional football field at the site, but have now changed tack, partly because there is Sportscotland grant aid available for an all-weather facility.
Also forming part of the proposals are the eight 16-metre-high floodlighting columns, a steel container to store maintenance vehicles and equipment, and a five-metre-high security fence.
The pitch itself, which will be next to Birch Road, is full-size, with an overall area of 106 metres by 66 metres.
