Council launches new tool for publishing Business and Industrial Land data for Highland Areas

11th March 2019

The Highland Council has today (Monday 11 March 2019) announced the release of a new mapping tool for available business and industrial land across the Council area that is aimed at supporting investment in the Highlands.

The Business and Industrial Land Audit (BILA) measures the availability of land allocated in the Local Development Plan(s) for business and industrial uses and grades it according to how quickly the land can be made available and prepared for use. The results of audit are used to formulate strategies and inform policy documents.

Sites were assessed in late 2018 and the final results reveal that a total of 324 were available for development. Sites were categorised by availability and any constraints delaying development were identified. 94 sites comprising of a total of 221ha were assessed as being immediately available for development. The information provided within the BILA will be of use to developers and other parties with an interest in business and industrial land.

Presented in a "Story Map" format and hosted on the Highland Council's website it provides multiple views of the same data aimed at better explaining the availability and status of land across the Highland Council area. Presentation in this form includes graphs and summary tables, descriptive text and interactive mapping.

Chair of the Council's Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Allan Henderson welcomes the new method of accessing the data. He said: "The tool is a very accessible way for people to find out key information. The team have devised it so users can get a clear overview on the availability of sites and can also drill down the system to get the detailed information.

He added: "The council is committed to attracting investment to the Highlands and recognises that economic growth is critical to enabling our communities not just to survive, but to thrive. Having the audit of available opportunities available in such a simple and interactive way is going to be of big help."

The BILA Map is available through the following link:https://www.highland.gov.uk/BILA2018