In the recent holiday period, Nairn has received a fair number of visitors. Whilst the increase in people on the beach and in the town has brought some increased anxiety for some, it has been great to see so many families enjoying traditional time on the beach and in the sea. An increasing number of these visitors are either dreaming of living in Nairn (recent comment overheard on the beach ‘imagine living here’ as reported on Nairn Rocks) or are visiting with property searches in mind. Scotland’s house prices reached record highs this month according to Rightmove which has seen its busiest month for sales in a decade. With home working now becoming the longer-term work mode for so many people there is an increase in interest for housing from those seeking a ‘lifestyle change.’ Unsurprisingly those from south of Birmingham and within the commuter belt of London are driving much of this interest. Do read my previous blog post #14 if you are thinking of moving to a remote corner of Scotland which outlines how our family decided on Nairn as our new home.
There are a variety of models emerging through the lockdown period which encourage us to maintain thinking about how we can live, work and shop locally. In Melbourne, Australia they are developing 20-minute neighbourhoods, an article in the FT recently spoke about 15-minute cities. We had a friend up visiting from Essex recently looking to retire to Nairn. One of the common selling points we often find ourselves saying in support of Nairn is that ‘everything you could need is within ten minutes walk or cycle’. As we all look to build on environmental progress towards carbon-neutral towns and cities it is likely that we are going to see a resurgence in ten-minute towns like Nairn.
What makes a good ten-minute town? Services and quality of life within ten minutes from the home that doesn’t involve getting in a car. For example, a good ten-minute town, like Nairn, would have:
Healthcare facilities
Work and employment opportunities
Schools and care homes
Shops, pubs and restaurants
Entertainment and sporting clubs
Places of worship
Pocket parks, blue spaces and green spaces linked as nature corridors across the town
Bus and train stations and stops for accessing places further afield
In Nairn, you have all of these plus the fresh sea air and a sense of peace and quiet that can be quickly obtained from just a few minutes listening to the waves on the miles of sandy beaches. But far from being the perfect place Nairn still has a lot to do to win a gold standard for the ten-minute town. There is an investment needed in infrastructure which prioritises walking and cycling - an obvious missing business in the town is a bike hire & maintenance shop. Whilst the river and beaches are stunning there could be more spaces for nature to move around the town through green corridors. And there are too many High street shops empty which could become new social businesses or much-needed housing and multi-use sites. Many of us have recently appreciated just how important the services and quality of life is local to home. Ten-minute towns like Nairn just might start to flourish again.
