Longman confirmed as new Highland waste site

A WASTE plant the size of four football pitches has been approved – for a site yards from Caley Thistle’s stadium.

The 4.5-acre site, on the north side of the A9 near the Longman roundabout, will deal with 83,000 tonnes of annual Highland waste.

It was chosen above 169 other locations considered in recent months and could be operational by late 2021.

A facility is needed because of new legislation banning the historic practice of landfill.

After much speculation about an incineration plant being part of the equation, council officials emphasised that they are "not looking at energy from waste at this time" but a location to house a "materials recovery facility to process all of the Highlands’ waste".

Almost 40 per cent of the region’s waste comes from Inverness and Nairn.

City SNP councillor Ron MacWilliam was the most vocal member during an environment committee debate about the issue.

He acknowledged the need for such a facility but pointed out that an officers’ report suggesting "a potential for an energy-to-waste operation in the future" underplayed things.

"I’d say there’s a likelihood," he said.

"It’ll be quite difficult to argue, once the infrastructure is in place to deal with waste at that site, that you might locate such a facility somewhere else."

He wanted data about volumes and the potential air quality impact on the surrounding area and what impact the facility may have on other possible uses of neighbouring land.

He was specifically concerned about the close proximity of a travellers’ site.

Officials informed councillor MacWilliam that the picture would become clearer from a development brief for the future of the Longman landfill site which was currently being worked on by officers.