The Fastest Growing City In Europe
Six days in to our 30 Days In Europe season and I can't ignore the fact that I live in "the fastest growing city in Europe". That phrase is used so often in Inverness yet I do have some trouble locating its factual origin. I've read predictions that the city is set to grow by 40% in the next ten years by which time the population will have increased to 100,000 people. Again, I'm not sure who has made the calculation and on what basis. I also have trouble working out what is actually powering this growth or why there seems to be such a demand for new houses here.
I have read that Inverness ranks in the top five of 185 British cities for "quality of life". I also met a PhD student who wrote his thesis on the population growth in the Highlands and he suggested that it all stemmed from the various property booms in London. Apparently lots of people sold their flats in London used the cash to fund a Highland dream house with associated land. Then, later in life, they realised it would be more sensible to move closer to a city - and its hospital and doctors - and so moved from rural areas into Inverness.
I don't know if that's true, but I can tell you that the growth remains visible every day of the week. The photograph below shows the construction of a road that will link the southern part of the city with the outlying Milton of Leys area. Sprawl, I think they call it.
But the fastest sprawl in Europe? Hmmm.
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