Report deals blow to park vow for affordable housing

The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) will tomorrow consider a report by the Scottish Government planning department which claims officials have over-estimated the need for new housing in the next six years.

The report says the park's housing allocations were "over-generous" in its first local development plan.

Firms behind housing proposals now feel they could be thwarted by a planning row and say the park authority's commitment to build new affordable homes could be "worthless".

CNPA proposed a 50 per cent additional allowance to provide for the building of second and holiday homes and vacant property, and a further 15 per cent to allow for uncertainty in projections. It estimated some 1,568 houses will be needed by 2016.

But the planning report says the figures appeared to have been "plucked out of the air" and added that it sympathises with an objector to the plan who said the housing allocation should be 950.

Architect firm Bracewell Stirling Consulting, which has spent several years on housing projects in the area, criticised the findings.

Partner Allan Rennie said: "It would be very short-sighted to go back on previous commitments and would amount to a serious threat to social and economic development in the park area."