Asphalt to make way for wildflower meadow, hopes of reintroducing native deer and wolves
Artist's impression of the High Street after its return to nature
The Highland Council has announced plans to transform Nairn's High Street as part of its net zero pledge in a polarising move. While some have lauded the plan's potential to attract eco-tourism and help Scotland combat climate change, others are concerned about accessibility and the impact on local businesses.
Local historian Natalie Glebe, who was part of the council's two hour consultation period on the project, explains the change isn't as alien to Nairn as some might think. "The famously long High Street was actually too expensive to pave until 1956," she said. "Before then it was a grassland biome inhabited by a huge variety of invertebrates, as well as wolves and deer."
Although a wild High Street clearly has historical precedent, others are unimpressed. Local road tester Jimmy Hargreaves was among them. "A lot of cars in this country aren't built with meadow terrain in mind. They're optimised for British pothole grade vibration frequencies. As walking our freakishly long High Street in one go is completely unreasonable locals will have no choice but to damage their precious automobiles."
The most controversial part of the plan, however, is the species conservation stage, which proposes settling a family of wolves and a herd of deer in the central business district. "My grandmother remembers the racket every time a full moon was out," said local drainage porter Alfie Hutcheon. "Back in the 50s those wolves would just howl and howl and howl. It was a nightmare for anyone living along the High Street, quite literally, you'd dream about them if you managed to get any sleep. And then in the morning they'd chase the kids to school as they were easy prey."
Sleep deprivation and aerobic school runs aside some residents welcomed the proposal. "Sacrifices will have to be made for our planet," said local independent spice mixer Jodie Aitken, who lives directly above her shop on the High Street. "In the immediate term I think it will bring more business to the High Street as nature enthusiasts from across the country will travel here. Right now they're being put off by the Nairn Smell, which I've been told would be resolved by planting indigenous grasses."
There were accusations that the programme was not down to a genuine concern about the environment but due to a massive hole in the budget - the new street would require no human maintenance. A Highland Council spokesman released a statement on the accusation to The Nairnite: "We are absolutely doing this for our planet, with the hope that it will also increase tourism to Nairn. The fact that we won't need to resurface the whole damn street every five years is just a coincidental massive benefit."
After concerns were raised about the impact on disabled residents the Highland Council has instituted a free husky sledding system to ferry blue badge holders through the dense undergrowth.
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