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Moray Council agrees to seek new Forres Academy bus drop off area court approval





Councillors have agreed to seek a court order allowing them to build a bus drop-off area on Common Good land.

At a full meeting of Moray Council this week, members unanimously agreed ask permission for the plan at Roysvale Park in Forres.

Locator photographs of Forres Academy, Burdsyard Road, Forres...Picture: Daniel Forsyth..
Locator photographs of Forres Academy, Burdsyard Road, Forres...Picture: Daniel Forsyth..

Up to 12 metres of land could be “appropriated” for the project, which will serve a future Forres Academy estimated to be completed by 2028, along with a “short term disposal” required for a construction area.

A public consultation on the plans was drawn up after Roysvale was picked as the preferred site for the new school in May 2024.

Running from September 18 until November 12, 2024, nearly 300 responses were received, all of which are now available online.

Councillor Kathleen Robertson (Forres, Conservative) said: “All members will have received correspondence and be aware of concerns that are rising from this.

“And I'd like to thank the members of the public for, once again, letting us know their views.”

The meeting also heard that the amount of land being asked for through the court application was effectively the maximum required, and it could have a lesser impact.

Councillor Scott Lawrence (Forres, SNP) asked whether there was a “reasonable degree of confidence” that the court application would be successful.

Monitoring officer Alasdair McEachan replied: “That's a very difficult question to answer, being in the hands of the sheriff.

“Clearly, officers wouldn’t put something forward to the court if we didn't feel that we had a fighting chance or there was a reasonable chance of all of the order being granted.”

Councillor Paul McBain (Forres, Conservatives) supported the recommendations along with paying tribute to members of the public who shared their comments and council staff working to move the project forward.

Councillor Draeyk van der Horn (Forres, Green) said: “It’s remarkable the number of consultations we have had.

“I’ve read them all, which is no mean feat.”

Cllr van der Horn also said the council should consider how it could better communicate what consultations are about, given how many responses were addressing concerns over the new school’s location rather than the use of Common Good land.

He also asked whether the council could add areas to the stock of common good land, as a way to replace the impacted area.

However, Mr McEachan confirmed that is not possible, but the council could add “further green space” to replace the green space.

A report presented at Tuesday’s meeting summarised the most common responses to the consultation.

The biggest concern, according to the report, was the temporary loss of greenspace during construction, along with a re-seeding period which could last up to 44 months.

In the council’s response, it argued that plans would “minimise” the area of common good land being used.

It added that the community would still be able to use the park, swing park, footpath and playing fields during construction.

The report added that “on completion the majority will be returned for public use with improved drainage”.

Also among the biggest areas of concern were potential drainage issues on the Roysvale site.

However, in response, the council said all future plans would have to go through the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) who would consider whether the site would be threatened by flooding.

The council also pledged that all mature trees on the site would be “retained or replaced”.

Among other issues raised by respondents were fears over the impact on wildlife, littering, emissions and the encroachment on the park during construction.

However, the report also claimed that many responses were centred on the location of the new school - rather than the use of Common Good land.

A motion to agree the bus drop-off plan was proposed by Cllr Lawrence and seconded by Councillor Marc Macrae (Fochabers Lhanbryde, Conservative).

Cllr Macrae said that while most consultation responses had been reasonable and constructive, he was “very disappointed” with “accusations” against Forres councillors.

“Many of the emails were very well put,” he said.

“But some of the emails have been very personal in some ways for the four Forres members and I'm very disappointed with some of the accusations that perhaps have been put towards them.

“We're all here trying to do the best job for Moray and move things forward.

“And it's not helpful really if people are targeted in such a way.

“Do please respect elected members of the regardless of party or the ward across Moray.

“We’re all trying to do our best for people.”


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