Dave Windle
You will know that the development of An Camus Mòr has been going very slowly as the landowner, John Grant of Rothiemurchus, struggles to find partners. The market is confirming what many of the objectors said years ago, that there is no appetite for a large new development and that infill is a better way forward. Part of the problem is that the complete new town requires a significant upfront investment in infrastructure and this is putting off potential partners.
Matters have come to a head as the original outline planning permission in principle is coming to the end of its validity and the developer has applied for an extension to the outline planning permission. In an effort to catch out sleepy civil servants dozing at their desks, he has also asked for the requirement for a review after the first 630 houses have been built to be removed. There is no basis for this additional request. NEMT, in line with many other individuals and organisations, has objected. Much has changed on the issue of provision of affordable housing and now would be a good time to review the need for An Camus Mòr.
As part of the application, plans have recently been published, giving details of measures proposed to mitigate some of the environmental destruction associated with the new town. These will lead to substantial reductions in existing access rights in the area. They include restrictions on the use of informal tracks, both for walking and mountain biking, deliberate revegetation of some existing paths, reduced provision for parking. These have been widely reported, e.g. parkswatch and Evening Express
On Friday 18th August, the application was heard by the CNPA planning committee and, despite all the objections and verbal submissions from the Cairngorms Campaign and the Badenoch and Strathspey Conservation Group, was approved. This wasn't a surprise. Too many politicians have sided with it over the years and too much civil service effort has gone into overcoming objections for them to back down now. It is, of course, a classic example, of when in a pit, keeping digging and reminds you of the other classic waste of money in the ongoing efforts by HIE to revive the Cairngorm skiing development further up the road.
Nick Kempe on his Parkswatch
website takes a crumb of comfort in that the proposed mitigations will drive
up the developments costs and further put off any future partners.
One final observation: although we are strongly against the development, we
do concede that it takes a lot of pressure off the provision of land for housing
elsewhere in the park. "We need to be careful what we wish for!"
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