Housing scheme aims high

“Forecasts of 1,000 permanent posts as a result of retail and office premises”

The scale of a new suburb being created in Inverness is significant, but the depth and variety of what it is trying to achieve are also impressive.

Stratton, which lies between Inverness Retail park and Smithton and Culloden, will create or attract more than 2,000 jobs. This is an extraordinary figure.

There are forecasts of 1,000 permanent posts eventually as a result of retail and office premises being incorporated into the plan, along with a hotel, and 1,200 temporary construction jobs. The ambitious project takes shape over the next decade and is expected to have a major impact on Inverness and the greater Highlands in economic terms.

Affordable housing is a major issue as the region strives to keep its home-grown people and attract talent from outside, so earmarking 25% of the new-builds to suit most people’s pockets is welcome.

Lack of roads and schools has been a controversial feature of new developments in and around the Highland capital, but both issues appear to have been addressed.

Efforts are being made to attract residents into Stratton’s eventual town centre. Obviously, you cannot just tell people use a town centre – there must be something to attract them in the first place. Similarly, a community is only as good as its people, so it will be important that new residents embrace the spirit and concept of Stratton – but to do that the designers and planners must also deliver.

As we have seen elsewhere, lack of shops and facilities can rob a town of its heart.