LONG READ: Can Dingwall revamp change the face of county town?
Approaching its 800th anniversary Dingwall is set for the most ambitious plan in more than a generation, involving significant direct public investment that could transform Ross-shire’s county town.
Almost overnight Dingwall has become the focus of the Highland Investment Programme because it will be used as the template for running services across the region for decades to come.
Some of the main proposals include two new schools, hopes to reopen Dingwall Business Park, dealing with eyesore council depots; upgrading the leisure centre; and finally tending to Pefferside Park.
The Ross-shire previously reported on how the plans were being developed but the most advanced iteration of those concepts was revealed at the last full council meeting of the year.
Many in Dingwall have heard big promises before but these proposals are credible because the council must act if it is to secure delivery of services by ultimately saving money.
There is also the issue of credibility not just council officials but also elected members who have widely backed the plan, and that means pushing it through and, with Dingwall at the very top of the list, it means action.
The aim is to address long-held problems experienced by the town, touching on its many facilities and strengths with other statutory services including education, emergency, leisure, health and environmental services.
The key to the council’s vision is co-location – the more of those services that are as easily accessible in one place the better it would be for all, including the local authority itself.
There are more than 20 facilities, establishments or amenities dotted about the town that have been grouped together according to type.
Though it would be impossible to share premises with all these services many are natural bedfellows.
For education there is Dingwall Academy and Primary, St Clement’s, and the Highland Theological College while leisure has the leisure centre, library, museum and town hall.
Emergency services in the town include the police, fire and ambulance stations; then there is health served by Ross Memorial Hospital and the health centre; while environmental services in the town include SEPA, Scottish Forestry, and Nature Scotland.
Outdoor amenities include Pefferside Park, Jubilee Park Football Club, the Macdonald Memorial- Mitchell Hill and play parks as well as core paths and woodland.
Of those clearly blue light services of police roads department and the north’s busiest ambulance station could potentially co-exist if an appropriate location could be found as often they would attend the same incidents.
Expressed simply: the plans for Dingwall are the ultimate spend to save and the ambition of the plan matches the need to save cash.
Councillor Graham Mackenzie is a member of the senior leadership group Highland Council where many of the highest-level decisions are taken about the local authority, he insists he has never seen anything like the investment plan.
“The Dingwall section of the Highland Investment Plan is way above anything I’ve seen either in the 13 years I have been a councillor or the 31 years I have lived in the Highlands,” he said.
“Over the years we have spoken a lot – with The Ross-shire Journal – about Dingwall and the investment that the town needs to rejuvenate it and bring it back to life, which will also benefit the whole ward.
“A year ago we were all down in the dumps when we thought we were going to get the funding for a new St Clement’s – it was so close but it didn’t happen – but the Highland Investment Programme has changed that.
“Investigations since then revealed that Dingwall Primary was one of the poorest schools in the region and it directly led to Dingwall being targeted as a priority for investment to co-locate with St Clement’s.
“It also gives us a chance to reinvigorate Dingwall Business Park and even to reroute the River Peffery to avoid flooding issues while the Pefferside Park will get some much needed and long overdue attention.
“The depots that are effectively eyesores now can get some proper care to modernise and upgrade them while retaining the workforce with options for other units to co-locate with bodies like the police or ambulance service, if they chose.
“These are the most ambitious plans that, certainly, I have seen for Dingwall and taken with the Green Freeport I believe will make Dingwall a flourishing place in which to live and work”.
Highland Council wants to make Dingwall the centre of a new concept in how to deliver services that could change the face of the town for the foreseeable future - and could include significant improvements.
At the heart of the Highland Investment Programme – worth £2.1 billion over 20 years - are so-called points of delivery (PODs).
The idea is underpinned by common-sense objectives to place as many services and amenities under one roof as possible to provide ease of access for the public and staff and save money on unneeded facilities.
There are three POD options for the town to align service functions, training facilities, and bring efficiencies for both currently utilised and underused assets within the town.
The Community POD could offer operational and customer-focused provisions; the Office POD could provide back office space; and the Depot POD would be for multi-agency or partner storage, maintenance and ‘washdown’ facilities.
In basic terms, the concept saves money. For example having two schools next to each other using one car park costs less to maintain than two schools with two car parks. It also opens a door to sharing costs between different bodies.
Dingwall Business Park
One of the top priorities for the county town is Dingwall Business Park. An embarrassing debacle affecting Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), SEPA and the council planning department has seen an inability to grant planning permission to new businesses because the flood protection around the park was not maintained.
HIE developed the park which was then sold off piecemeal to various businesses, but no one looked after the flood bund. That has meant SEPA - itself based in Dingwall Business Park - being forced to object to new planning proposals and council planners having to recommend refusals.
The council is willing to invest £150,000 that it is hoped will go some way to restoring the flood protection, with funding likely also coming from HIE, in turn allowing businesses to access sites inside the park.
Schools
The town has always been proud of hosting St Clement’s Special School but the decades-long wait for a replacement building has turned many locals against the local authority.
The investment plan contains two options. The first is a new site on Docharty Road. The second is co-locating the school on the grounds of a new Dingwall Primary.
A decision on moving ahead with one or either option will be made in March next year. It is understood that more time was sought by the St Clement’s parent council keen to ensure the the best for children from its perspective.
It’s understood it is not convinced about co-location with Dingwall Primary. But assessments will continue along with site planning, with the fields sitting just above the current dilapidated building, dating back to 1971, earmarked.
That could mean new schools for around 50 St Clement’s pupils and around 440 pupils in the primary.
Eyesore council depots
The dilapidated council depot on Craig Road has seen better days with corrugated iron lining the outside walls and roof.
This offers a significant money-saving opportunity as a transport depot like this one could potentially be shared either with other council services or used by other bodies.
The two main candidates – and this is still at an early stage – are Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service, both with major bases in the town.
The fire service has just upgraded its own base so it is unlikely that it would consider an immediate move.
Leisure opportunities
Dingwall Leisure Centre, like the primary, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and though it remains hugely popular and well run it could be upgraded and renewed.
A better attended facility would generate more revenue for High Life Highland and any improvements would offer increased health and exercise options for locals, including school kids.
Further to that would be work that is expected on Pefferside Park, seen by many as an untapped asset for the town and nearby residents.
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