@nicenairn.org

Anything doing these days? Someone who went to your last public meeting was asking this observer what NICE are doing. Any chance of an update on the website please?

Community Councils to take over NICE?

We reported just before Christmas how NICE is aiming for Development Trust Status to pro-actively take forward town centre issues. Interestingly at the West CC meeting last week Jimmy Ferguson, during discussion on regaining democratic control of the Common Good Fund, asserted that NICE was moving in a direction where they might seek to take ownership of community assets. He went further and indicated that, “the three Community Councils need to take ownership of NICE.”

It does seem a very sensible move to this observer, maybe this is the drift of current thinking within NICE?

NICE moves towards development trust status and seeks 1000 members

The NICEafarians met on Monday night. They had an EGM which enabled them to pass a couple of resolutions that should help them move forward as a "Community Body" should the OSCR (the Office of the Scottish Charities Register) give their approval. A minute of their meeting states:

"Michael Barnett said that the immediate next steps included finalising the proposed new Articles of the Company, their informal submission to OSCR for approval, a membership drive (the target of 1000 had been suggested during the meeting), initial work on a business plan and funding requirements, and engagement with parties such as Highland Council, Local Councillors, and Community Councils. Once progress had been made on these and other matters, it would be necessary to call a further Extraordinary General Meeting at which the proposed new Articles would have to be voted on, which would involve a Special Resolution requiring a 75% vote in favour."

Obviously as the minute quoted above states, NICE has a lot of work to do but it will be interesting to see what happens as we draw near the Highland Council elections in May. If NICE has a successful membership drive and the town's three community councils reaffirm their support then it will be interesting to see if all sitting councillors and any candidates endorse the NICE business plan should it be ready by then. More information on the NICE website.

NICE and quiet for Christmas

The NICE website has gone quiet again. Perhaps it’s all over again for 2011 for this organisation or perhaps something of significance has been going on in the background but no information recently on their digital outlet.

A NICE time last night

There were around 40 people present yesterday evening in the Community Centre for what was effectively the re-launch of NICE. A lot of stuff was said, (some of it would have been familiar to the previous intake last year) and there seems to be a desire to move forward towards establishing a Community Interest Group to move the aims of the organisation forward. There was a mannie there from The Development Trust Association who made a lot of comments that seemed to please the NICE directors and the troops. It seems Scottish Government policy that is heading towards becoming legislation will be favourable to the aims of groups like NICE. The DTA mannie said that the Scottish Goverment had promised a bill called the Community empowerment and renewable bill, he continued: “that is all about empowering communities to achieve things for their own community. And what this bill is all about will be giving new rights and new responsibilities to try and overcome some of the obstacles...Basically what I’m saying is what your are trying to achieve , the Scottish Government Policy at the highest level, the ministers and the civil servants are also wanting to go in that direction.”

As said previously there was a lot of points of view but here’s two that stuck out to this observer:

One wifie said:

“I don’t think it’s good enough to say that people have the opportunity to be members of NICE. I think you have to be quite proactive in reaching out to different sections of the community. There are some people that will never come to a meeting like this, this meeting is quite exclusive. So I think you need to be pro-active in involving different aspects of the Nairn Community and you might never get a consensus but you need to be seen to have reached out to people and meet them on their own terms rather than expecting them to come here to you.”

Iain Fairweather said a little later: “It’s good if we can bring as many people with us but I don’t think we need their permission if they don’t want to come with us...Certainly if we can get the Community Councils to come with us great, but there’s an opportunity here to set something up that will do something different but has the potential to do something different, government mechanisms are in place to help us to do something different so there’s an opportunity to try and that’s maybe as far as we can go tonight and I think we should grasp it.”

There will be another meeting next month and the new working groups will report back, including one for Bus Station issues, notably the supermarket and flats proposal and there will be an attempt to contact the developer. At the meeting it emerged that the Sports Club had been trying to acquire the site for an indoor tennis court - a facility that is badly needed in the North it seems.

UPDATE: due to the nature of comments being received on this post that are not suitable for publication that facility has now been closed. Debate is perhaps needed now but a digital stushie will get nowhere.

Debate is sparse...

...over on the NICE site. This observer has made a contribution, maybe other Gurnites have views on the latest ideas from Nairn Improvement Community Enterprise

Big Society or NICE Big Bang?

After a summer off NICE have come back big style and drawn up a briefing document on how a Community Interest Company could, could….well, sort of, er, run Nairn really. Common Good assets could be piled in to get it going. It’s certainly an ambitious project and NICE say they would have to get all the following on board:

“Highland Council, NHS Highland,The Co-Op as owners of the defunct filling station, The Co-Op as owners of a supermarket that would benefit from regeneration of the town centre, The owner of the old bus station, The owner of the existing library building and adjacent car parking area, Local Elected Councillors, Community Councils and the Community and NICE’s members”

They envisage the following:"“It has been suggested that the long term interests of Nairn and its residents would be to establish an entity that is (a) owned and controlled by the local community, (b) provides a mechanism for other stakeholders (eg Highland Council and NHS Scotland) to influence and support decision-making, and (c) progressively assumes responsibility for a wide range of local service provision and infrastructure development and maintenance.”

To see how they plan to get there and what they hope to offer why not go over to this NICE page and read the documents concerned. Is it a revolutionary mechanism that could get Nairn sorted or could it be a dangerous leap into the unknown?

NICE looking to move forward proactively

Back on Wednesday night in the Community Centre at the West CC meeting, Mike Barnett, one of the Directors of NICE gave a summary of what is potentially a new phase for NICE in its efforts to ensure the town centre is developed in a manner that is appropriate for the community. Before Mike began to speak however Brian Stewart said: “I therefore, very much hope, speaking personally, that as the new developments begin to take shape that NICE will again mobilise public opinion and try and reflect accurately what the community thinks and feels.” He also said “There is a lot still to be discussed, a lot still to be done, we face huge challenges. How we meet them is going to be a test for all of us.”

NICE seems to be confident that it still has an “active membership” but that has to be put to the test at some time in the near future at a public meeting in which the Directors will seek approval for their latest idea of a Community Interest Company and a draft brief that Mike Barnett is taking to Highland Council for their consideration. It has to be said since the NICE website sprang back to life after a long rest, a flurry of articles are not attracting the volume of comments that were be seen earlier in the year. Will the rank and file be willing to be summoned back into action after the long summer hiatus or have they drifted away like the website regulars? Will the Community Councils once again be willing to all fall in line behind NICE too as a new direction is contemplated? Mike Barnett said that he thought the passage of time and the actions or lack of them by other parties had been to NICE’s advantage. Perhaps he’s right and everyone will come back refocused and ready to contribute once again when what is essentially a bit of meat and bones on Alistair Noble's vision of returning more democracy to our parochial affairs.

Mike’s briefing document will be going to the Highland Council before anyone else sees it (this observer is slightly worried by that but takes the point from Alistair and Brian Stewart that any move of this kind would need the support of the Council given they own or administrate so many of Nairn’s assets). After Council feedback the paper would be in the public domain via the membership of NICE once there was feedback that it was “in the right ball park, that it’s hitting the right spots.”

This observer awaits with interest that paper going into the public domain. Can NICE once again “mobilise public opinion and try and reflect accurately what the community thinks and feels” or has their moment passed?

Hopefully gurnites will turn out in large numbers to air their views when a public meeting is eventually called by NICE. It may be that a Community Interest Company is the vehicle that could change things in the town centre for the better and most people seem to be agreed that we need change. Sometimes we know what we don’t want but the problems may come when we look for consensus on what we do want. Potentially a major step in the right direction however, but as Brian Stewart says there is still a lot to be discussed.

NICE coming back to life? Getting into “thought leadership”

The Nairnshire reports a NICE AGM last week but the group’s website states that it was a “director’s meeting”. Some confusion there then, surely an AGM would have been advertised?( UPDATE 18/10/11 confirmed by NICE - the meeting was not an AGM) Anyway, a document posted on line indicates a new director and chair were appointed and some discussion was had about the next steps NICE will take. As we reported last week, the NICE site has come back to life too and the first posting since March of this year has now turned into a flurry of digital activity with NICE seeking views of the population. Earlier this year some postings on the NICE site elicited quite a few responses but so far, this time round, little comment is coming forward. Are folk bothered now, with NICE having been dormant for just too long or can the inner circle of that organisation bring it back to life? Will the rank and file be willing to turn out on parade after the long hiatus? Mrs Gurnmeister was asked several times over the summer if she'd heard anything from NICE. Things are moving again however, on the 11^th of this month NICE stated on their site: “It is time to take stock. Over the next few days, the NICE think-tank will be posting a series of observations and questions. The future direction and activity of NICE will depend on the level of response.”

Not much response so far for NICE then but there’s still time perhaps. Here’s an interesting section from the minutes of the Directors’ meeting last wee:

“It was thought that a radical approach is required, and the directors were aware that Alastair Noble had been in discussion with Highland Council representatives about a “community enterprise” taking on an active role as regards the long-term management of leisure, health and recreational functions in Nairn. Alastair believes that the town centre and common good assets are a vital ingredient of the development of such a plan, and had advised that Highland Council would welcome a “thought leadership” briefing paper on the subject. Michael Barnett said he thought that a Community Interest Company (“CIC”) would be a suitable vehicle because of the “asset lock” that is its essential feature – any profits are subject to a very rigid distribution “cap” to shareholders, and surplus profits can only be re-invested for the benefit of the community. But a CIC cannot be a charity, which precludes NICE itself assuming the proposed role unless it gives up its potentially valuable charitable status. NICE, however, could be a shareholder if the CIC were established as a different entity.” More here.

It will be interesting to see the reaction from the NICE membership to the document that Micheal Barnett intends to draw up and whether there will be enough interest at a public meeting at some time in the future to allow NICE to continue, once again with a strong public mandate. The town’s three community councils will have a new complexion soon, will they still want to support NICE? One has to ask also why any Community Interest Company should restrict itself to leisure, health and recreation? What about housing for example, shouldn’t Nairn be trying to get control of that again? And just what is the best mechanism for the community taking back a bit more control of Nairn’s civic affairs? Is it through the like of NICE or would it be better through (the Royal Burgh of) Nairn Community Council Forum? That is a group now established that will have a membership of at least 27 community councillors come next month. Why not say something to the NICE folk?

Bus station plans - any NICE intervention?

NICE seems to have been dormant over the summer months. Could the plans for the Bus Station inspire that organisation to come back to life over the winter months? Some movement is visible on the facebook page at last but is NICE to all intents and purposes over and done with or does it have mileage yet as a lobbying group?

Nice and quiet

Nothing out of NICE for sometime now, both the NICE plan and the Highland Council's ambitions for the town centre remain available for view on the website. Will anything ever happen or do we just have two versions of a dream that will never come into being?

Meanwhile all the empty buildings along the A96 continue to decay. Perhaps there are stirrings behind the scenes or maybe once again we will have to wait for the promise of development cash to come in from housing on the Sandown Lands before there is any movement at all? There's also an ongoing development brief in the pipeline for Sandown:

"Work on the Development Brief will progress over the course of Summer 2011, with regular reports being given to the local members and community groups through the Ward Forum meetings. A draft brief will be prepared for the Planning, Environment and Development Committee meeting later in the autumn. This will then be followed by further public and stakeholder consultation with adoption of the Development Brief as Supplementary Guidance taking place before the end of 2011."

The Council promises to get everyone's views on board too:

"We will organise venue bookings and base information, including maps, and will place adverts in the local newspapers, contact local groups and try to engage with people through our blog and social networking sites to reach the widest audience possible."

Coming soon a "Charette" for Sandown then. Full Highland Council document here. Full steam ahead by the end of the autumn for Sandown and cash coming in to sort the town centre and pay the community centre debt soon after that?

Avoiding being just a "talking shop for busybodies"

The NICE folk are very much looking beyond the town centre now and branching out to look at many other aspects of development and infrastructure in Nairn. In their own words (lifted this very minute from their website).

"Although people had joined NICE as individuals, some people warned that unless it reflected the full range of local opinion, there was a risk that the group would become no more than a “talking shop for busybodies”. For NICE to comment effectively and credibly on all the wider planning issues affecting Nairn, it needed to engage with other local interest-groups, including farmers, local businesses, environmental groups, the tourism sector and others."

Bearing that all in mind they have set up the following working groups with named co-ordinaters:

- Housing: Matthew Hilton/Vivien Munro

- Industry/Employment/Enterprise: Graham Vine

- Retail and Tourism: John Oliver

- Recreation/ amenity/green spaces: Iain Bruce

- Transport and other infrastructure: Shane Rodgers/Brian Stewart

More on the latest Nicities here:

The Gurn also notes that three representatives (Shane Rodgers, Graham Vine and Brian Stewart) will attend the forthcoming meeting with Highland Council and Transport Scotland officials about A96 issues.
Now I suppose one would have to have been there to have the full background to that meeting but one hopes that Highland Council and Transport Scotland will extend the same courtesy to the three Community Councils (elected or unelected be their members). Perhaps they already have and apologies from the Gurn if this is so.

It seems that NICE with its three (four?) directors is moving into territory that could best be pursued by a democratically elected Burgh of Nairn Community Council (that is to say a single one instead of three) with working groups of citizens with or without expert knowledge, but in the absence of such a body then I suppose the efforts of a "Company Limited by Guarantee" will have to do. Not an ideal situation but hey, c'est la vie.

Or perhaps to put it another way, Highland Council could simply have a Nairn Community Council on its hands or, again in the Nicest way possible, a Revolutionary Citizens' Forum. It remains to be seen if NICE is a suitable vehicle for taking us forward but dissent will out in one way or another.

NICE notes from the 17th

Here's the notes from the latest NICE meeting. NICE is moving forward with an initiative to canvass public views on how to respond to the 'Call for sites' invitation from the Highland Council (that is part of the development of the local plan apparently). It does get a bit difficult trying to follow all this as the technical jargon piles up but NICE do make efforts to translate their continuing efforts to talk to the planners in their own language.
NICE now has over a hundred members and 25 people attended the last meeting, is that enough to give NICE the long-term staying power it needs or will membership numbers have to go much higher than that? Things are obviously a bit beyond what oor Sandy would call "the usual suspects" now but can NICE become big enough to morph into a long-term mainstream organisation with staying power and the ability to accurately reflect, distill and represent Nairn public opinion? The town has great need of such an organisation that's for sure but the difficulty is that we, quite often, as a community know what we don't want but do we know what we do want when it comes to what we think should be developed and what shouldn't and just how many of us are prepared to participate in debate on the pros and cons outlined by NICE?

The next meeting of NICE will be on Friday 25 Feb from 17.00 to 18.45 in the Community Centre. Use it or lose it?

Still feel like paying attention to town centre matters?

NICE are looking for more comment from citizens on town centre issues, there’s NICE’s plan (version 4) and The council’s (plan B version 3). You can find all the latest over on the NICE site, including the plans and a document highlighting the issues between the two.

Jimmy Ferguson's criticism of Jeanne Tolmie

Part of the contents of an e-mail circulated to NICE members and local Highland Councillors have now found their way into the local mainstream media, that is to say the Nairnshire Telegraph (this week's 16 pager is a belter by the way). At last week's ward forum Jeanne indicated that she was not particularly enamoured with NICE. Now those comments are a bit hard to fathom, especially since she is the chair of a Community Council that is officially supporting NICE. Anyway this is what Jimmy Ferguson (NICE's high heid yin) had to say:

"I was very surprised that Jean Tolmie did not agree with NICE's submission, maybe it was forgotten that the River CC has three active participants in the NICE team who have all made significant and welcome suggestions and afforded a lot of their personal time. It will be very interesting to review Jean's issues and alternative suggestions, I feel it is a shame she has not participated in the any workshops and presentations or fed in to the NICE effort or THC her opinions, they are all equally important."

Now it is worth pointing out that, regardless of her eventual views, Jeanne would not have been able to attend many of the weekly NICE meetings/workshops before Christmas. The great majority of them were held in the Sailing Club and unfortunately Jeanne was effectively excluded by the fact that she is unfortunately no longer able to climb stairs unaided. Jeanne and other disabled individuals, should they have wished to attend those meetings, would have been unable to do so.

Latest NICE masterplan for Nairn town centre.

Following last night's Ward Forum the Gurn has been informed that NICE have tweaked the masterplan to reflect concerns raised by both the Co-op and the Highland Council.
The latest vision for our town centre ("for the people, by the people" in this observer's humble opinion) can be seen here.

A must read letter - Nairnshire Partnership not working?

NICE have submitted a five page letter (plus four annex pages) to the Highland Council ahead of the Ward Forum meeting next Wednesday (26^th 7.00p.m. at the Courthouse). NICE are not only setting out their stall but stating what the Community should expect from their Council. This letter is a ‘must read’ for all serious students of Town Centre Planning affairs. The meeting will be a ‘must attend’ too for all those who were appalled at the Council’s ‘Plan B’ design for the Town Centre. Wednesday night will demonstrate how far the Highland Council have moved to accommodate the wishes of the people of Nairn.

Here’s a couple of extracts from the annex pages which highlights one of the perceived failings in a part of the apparatus set up by the Council in response to Scottish Government guidance – that is ‘The Nairnshire Partnership'

The first is NICE’s own view

‘It is of course true that the Nairn(shire) Partnership exists as a collective formal group. Evidence exists that it has ceased to offer a genuine forum for the development of a shared vision, but serves primarily a vehicle for the local authorities to make announcements and deliver vision. The emergence of other groups – of which NICE is only the most recent – is a clear sign that the Nairnshire Partnership is not fulfilling the role envisaged in the official guidance.

And here’s information from Planning in Small Towns (PAN 52), a guidance document from the Scottish Government which NICE quote in the document they have sent to the Council.

“The regeneration of town centres will not, however, happen by chance; it requires a shared vision, positive planning policies and carefully targeted investment in new development, redevelopment, refurbishment and environmental improvement, including the management of traffic.”

“Many [Scottish] towns have experienced or are undergoing significant change; but this needs to be handled with care if their inherent qualities, which makes them distinctive, are not to be eroded. Retaining these qualities, building on them and attempting to restore the traditional vitality of small towns are therefore key tasks which cannot be undertaken by planning authorities acting alone or working with an agency; the involvement of local community and business organisations is essential in understanding the town, considering the scope for change and setting out a co-ordinated programme of action. Vision, imagination and urban design skills are also essential ingredients if small towns are to respond to rising expectations and the demands of the modern economy while safeguarding their built heritage.”

There’s a lot more to read in the NICE letter. Forget the Sunday supplements, get right up to date with Town Centre affairs by reading the letter. The Highland Council planners might be drawing up the future for us but it is Nairn residents that will have to live with it not them – let’s make sure we get something we all want!

NICE news - getting ready for the next Town Centre meeting - Ward Forum on the 26th at the Courthouse

The Gurn has obtained a copy of a five page letter that NICE have submitted to the Highland Council in advance of the Ward Forum meeting (7.p.m 26th Jan) where the Council will present their updated Plan B for the town centre. The letter makes three requests ahead of that meeting concerning the questions of timing of the plan, asking for the development brief to be integrated with the plan for the whole of the town centre and asking that the planning be pursued in accordance with current planning guidlines and best practice. There's a lot more important information in the letter too. The letter can be read here.

This is important Gurnites. There was a huge turnout for the last meeting organised by NICE and this one will be even more important as the future of the town centre takes another step forward. Please get down to the Courthouse for this meeting next week if you are worried about how things are going with this town centre Plan B from Highland Council.

2011 - Give the community the chance to use the Common Good to create wealth!

One of the issues that will come to dominate 2011 in Nairn will be the town centre and Highland Council’s Plan B. The Citizens’ group NICE will also be to the fore as they continue the campaign for a better town centre and perhaps expand their role to help improve other parts of Nairn. Inextricabley linked with the town centre (and the Sandown problem) is the Common Good fund, especially as efforts by the Highland Council to raise cash from the fund have ended in spectacular disaster - is it now time for a daring change of approach? This observer thinks so. Earlier this month a book entitled ‘The Poor have no Lawyers’ was recommended to me. It is written by Common Good campaigner Andy Wightman and in quoting from chapter 23 “All Property of a Burgh” I’m struck by just how appropriate his words are for our current situation in Nairn:

“Common good assets form a central part of the history, heritage, culture and identity of communities across Scotland. Over many decades, however, their significance has been lost, their status diminished, their role forgotten and their fate become increasingly insecure. We should be aiming to expand the portfolio of such property to promote regeneration in Scotland’s towns and cities. It is now apparent that thirty years after the abolition of town councils, Scotland’s towns and villages have lost much of their identity, cohesion and self-belief. Common good assets can play a part in recovering civic identity and prosperity.

It is self-evident that those best positioned to take a view on the best interests of the inhabitants of a Burgh are the inhabitants themselves. This should be done through open, transparent and democratic debate and yet they have no such avenue to do so. Instead the local authority determines this question. This is no longer sustainable.

There are literally hundreds of millions of pounds floating around in the form of previously unaccounted-for assets, undervalued assets and underused assets. This wealth belongs to local people and not to the Council. It should be used to begin a process of civic renewal and physical regeneration, to deliver wealth and prosperity and to give back to towns across Scotland some self-respect, belief and power to improve the welfare of their community.”

We need more control over our own affairs as Andy Wightman says, local people have the skills (just look at the squad of talent quickly assembled by NICE) and a profound desire to protect and improve their community. Will our Highland Council representatives have the courage to let the community take the next steps instead of relying too heavily on the advice and guidance of their (often out of town) officials? Will they have the foresight to respond to public opinion and allow us to have a Royal Burgh Community Council? Remember Scottish Government sponsored consultation on that is still ongoing until the end of January. They have the choice, let the community have more freedom or fight a battle against the community to keep power in Glenurquhart Road. Will they be remembered as guiding visionaries or out of touch individuals who failed to see the writing on the wall? Come on Sandy - you could help Nairn really set an example here - let the people have a go instead of the bureaucrats!

2011 will be very interesting indeed.

Nice Nairnshire

This week's edition contains a special cut-out NICE membership form plus an article about how the NICE plan for the town centre is going. NICE are still looking for your views too. More details in the Nairnshire Telegraph.