Cairngorms housing plan will create 'enclave for the rich'

Published on Monday 26 July 2010 16:08

SCOTLAND's biggest national park risks creating more enclaves of second homes for rich people while failing to address the need for affordable housing, it is being claimed.

• The Rothiemurchus Estate, where a new village of 1,500 homes is planned. Picture: Ian Rutherford

According to the Scottish Campaign for National Parks (SCNP), housing policies produced by the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) are "not fit for purpose".

The CNPA has recently approved plans for 1,800 homes within the park, with 1,500 earmarked for a new village at An Camus Mor, near Aviemore, and 300 at Kingussie.

The An Camus Mor development was approved even though Scottish Government planning reporters said they did not accept the need for it.

The government reporters had also criticised the park for its "over-generous" allocation of new housing over the next six years.

The SCNP has lodged a formal objection to the Local Plan on the grounds that it fails to address local affordable housing needs adequately and could exacerbate the problem further by creating more clusters of second homes in the scenic area.

Bill McDermott, the SCNP chairman, said: "In the absence of sound information on housing requirements, and an over-reliance on open market housing as a potential vehicle to securing affordable and local needs housing, we consider that the Local Plan housing policies are not fit for purpose.

"They are in direct contradiction of the primary aim of the national park, which must be conservation in those circumstances, as here, where there is an irreconcilable conflict and the potential for a further explosion in second homes."

Mr McDermott said there was a "strong moral obligation" on the park authority to go back to the drawing board on housing issues.

He added: "SCNP is urging the park authority to recognise that the special qualities of the national park, as determined by the designation, require special measures to meet the local housing needs of the park communities."

A consultation on changes to the plan ended on 2 July. The park board is due to discuss comments on 20 August and it is hoped the final document can be adopted later this year or early 2011.

Duncan Bryden, CNPA planning committee convener, said the provision of affordable housing is an issue it takes seriously and has set ambitious targets for developers to provide 25-40 per cent affordable housing in every development, higher than the national benchmark.

"It's never easy achieving a balance which supports local communities and protects the special qualities of the park."

The CNPA has previously raised concerns over a shortage of affordable housing which has led to an age imbalance.

The number of people living in the area aged 60-74 is predicted to increase by 85 per cent by 2025, while the number aged under 39 is expected to drop by 30 per cent.