Nairn’s new MP has met with business owners in the town to discuss it cleanliness and general upkeep.
Graham Leadbitter was invited to meet with a number of businesses by Nairn Business Improvement District after hearing from its members that they were dissatisfied with Highland Council’s commitment to keeping the town clean.
Mr Leadbitter who was voted in as the SNP MP for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey in July was invited to tour the town by Nairn BID chair Karen Stuart and its manager Lucy Harding.
After visiting the town, speaking with the BID team and some its members, Mr Leadbitter has vowed to take the concerns to the relevant Highland Council representatives.
Karen Stuart, who co-chairs the BID with Tracy Cameron said:
“One of the main things that has been raised by our members time and time again, particularly those in the town centre is that it is not clean and that Highland Council is not maintaining any sort of standard.
“We have had several meetings with Highland Council, the issue has been raised with the local councillors and we have spoken to the ward manager, but still we don’t seem to be able to get a regular clean of our town.
“We have been told it’s cleaned every day, but that is simply not true.
“We were also promised that the green machine would be deployed in Nairn to clean the streets, but that has never come to fruition.
“Highland Council did offer to loan us cleaning equipment, but again that just feels as though they are piling their responsibilities onto us and opens up all sorts of issues of safety and insurance.”
Karen who owns Vitamin Sea Gift Shop & Printing on the High Street added:
“The biggest gripe that we get from the businesses is about cleanliness.
“There are weeds, seagull and pigeon faeces, rubbish and cigarette butts.”
Mr Leadbitter visited four businesses including Vitamin Sea, Pat Fraser’s, The Highland Weigh and the Highland Hospice Book Shop.
As well as raising the issue of cleanliness, the Nairn By-pass, empty shop units and unoccupied buildings and Nairn as a tourist town were also topics discussed.
“It was a really useful meeting,” said Karen, “and we feel we were listened too and our concerns taken seriously.”
Mr Leadbitter said he was happy to have been able to learn more about the issues facing Nairn BID and its members:
“It was a pleasure meeting with Nairn BID to discuss key local issues and to visit some of the fantastic local shops that make Nairn such a great place to live, work and do business.
“Among the topics raised were the need for improved street cleaning and maintenance in the town centre, as well as the challenges posed by gull management.
“These are vital issues for both the community and the visitor economy.”
Mr Leadbitter added:
“We also discussed the importance of joined-up thinking in addressing the use of empty units; maximising their potential is essential to maintaining Nairn’s status as a thriving and attractive destination.
“I’ll continue to work closely with BID, local representatives and business owners to ensure Nairn remains a great place to live and visit.”
