Balvonie Park Association

The Balvonie Park Association (BPA) was established to lead on acquiring and managing the development of the land between Braes of Balvonie (the estate at the top of Milton of Leys in Inverness previously known as Scotland’s Housing Expo) and the A9.

The Highland Council have designated these two fields in the Inner Moray Firth Local Development Plan (IMFLDP) as an area that should be kept for the benefit of the local community.

The land is currently owned by Highland Housing Alliance (HHA) but can be transferred to a local community group via Highland Council following a formal application using the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) process.

The Highland Council have stated that no part of the land will be developed or adopted by the local authority. As such, any plans the BPA proposes for the land must be affordable, sustainable and able to be maintained by the community itself.

The BPA have been investigating ways to make the best use of the land, improving the biodiversity and ecological value while being financially sustainable and offering benefits for the whole of Milton of Leys community. Following local consultation and identification of potential funding support, the focus from the BPA is on the development of a community woodland with associated footpaths, with additional outline plans for community food growing initiatives and allotments.

The BPA applied to The Highland Council in August 2022 to take ownership of the land through the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. This application process is ongoing and more information on both the process and our application can be found on the Highland Council website here -

https://www.highland.gov.uk/info/20010/community_planning/726/community_asset_transfer

We always welcome further members and interest from Milton of Leys residents as we seek to put together a financially and environmentally sustainable plan for the area in order to benefit as many local people as possible. You can find us on Facebook here - https://www.facebook.com/BalvoniePark and we advertise our meetings on other local Facebook pages such as Milton of Leys Residents and Braes of Balvonie Residents.

The BPA is a registered Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) with the following members on the board:

Chair: Kim Thain
Secretary: John McNally         
Treasurer: Nick Scroggie