MSP Kate Forbes hails 'positive' move that could see Dingwall Business Park reopen to businesses after flood concerns left local Highlands and Islands Enterprise and SEPA red faced over botched protections
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AN MSP has pledged to maintain pressure to help ease a "major headache" affecting jobs and investment in Dingwall after a breakthrough.
A number of firms keen to locate at Dingwall Business Park have got bogged down over flood protection measures which don't tick all the necessary present-day requirements.
Planning applications to set up businesses have faced being knocked back by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) – which, ironically, has an office there itself.
Dingwall Business Park lies on the River Peffery flood plain and hosts a variety of going concerns, including Highland Council’s recycling centre, offices, a nursery and industrial units.
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Positive step forward
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which developed the park, has come under pressure over an extension to the protection bund to meet relevant flooding legislation.
Now HIE, after a number of meetings between Dingwall and Seaforth councillors and local MSP Kate Forbes, has offered to pay for design works to explore what needs to be done to bring it up to standard.
Ms Forbes told the North Star: “This issue of the bund maintenance has been a major headache at Dingwall Business Park for a considerable time now, hence why I and local councillors kickstarted the process with a series of meetings.
“Funding for a design contract to upgrade the bund is a positive step forward, and I will continue to push for progress.”
Negative impact on economic growth
Highland Council has agreed to adopt the business park – but only if the requisite works are completed.
Chairman of the economy and infrastructure committee, Ken Gowans, said: “Currently, any new development within the business park is being considered as a flood risk.
“This is having a negative impact on the potential for new economic growth, so I am pleased that our decision to adopt in principle, is a positive step forward to unlocking opportunities within Dingwall Business Park.”
Pressure for action
Local councillors had ramped up pressure by approving several planning bids over the statutory objections of SEPA, which meant it was referred to government ministers for a decision.
A spokeswoman for SEPA said: “The building SEPA owns and occupies in the Dingwall Business Park was built in line with the relevant flood risk policy at the time of development.
“We are not able to support the current planning applications as they are not compliant with the requirements of the Scottish Planning Policy flood risk framework. It was in 2019 that SEPA became aware that the flood defences did not meet this requirement.
“Since then, we have been working in close collaboration with HIE and Highland Council to consider ways to address this issue and this joint working resulted in HIE commissioning the recent survey report.”
Funding implications
A spokeswoman HIE said: “The condition of the flood bund at Dingwall Business Park affects all organisations and businesses that own land there, including HIE among several others.
“Following competitive tender we are appointing a supplier to design a fully compliant upgrade to the bund.
“The aim is to establish the full scope of improvements that would best meet higher present-day standards for flood protection required under planning legislation to enable future developments on the business park.
“We are in discussions with partners to explore the funding implications of a future construction phase of the project.”
Regeneration of the Dingwall economy
Dingwall and Seaforth Councillor Angela Maclean said: "There have been meetings with all the relevant Public Sector organisations, local ward councillors and Kate Forbes MSP for sometime now. Alister MacKinnon when he was a local councillor first raised the issue new businesses were unable to locate to the Dingwall Business Park due to SEPA rightly objecting to the condition of the bund when their Planning applications came forward.
"The Dingwall Business Park has an important role to play in the regeneration of the economy of Dingwall and the wider area and this has been recognised by all the partners and in particular HIE who have agreed to pay for the exploratory works to see what needs to be done to upgrade the bund.
"All of the Businesses in the park will be contacted and kept informed of what works will be required during the study. There are a number of milestones to be overcome but once the report is produced all stakeholders will have a much better understanding of the funding needed to implement the recommendations."
