Approval is granted for new NHS dental clinic in Inverness city centre
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Inverness is set to gain a new dental clinic to help counter current dire shortages in NHS treatment.
Skye dentist Dr Zahid Ahmad, of Portree Dental Care, has been granted permission by Highland Council planners to convert an office in the city into a new dental practice.
A lack of availability of NHS provision has created a crisis in dentistry in the Inverness area, with patients forced to travel to surrounding Highland towns such as Invergordon and Tain to avoid paying for private treatment.
The new premises will be located at 24 Bank Street, on the east side of the River Ness.
The proposal has been granted permission in accordance with a few conditions that include: the installation of a minimum of two cycle stands in close proximity to the site, in addition to pavement waste bin storage.
In planning papers, Dr Ahmad said his proposal fits with Scotland-wide plans to improve access to NHS dentists.
Similar shortages in NHS provision have been experienced across the UK with The British Dental Association (BDA) recently claiming radical change was needed to prevent a collapse in the system.
Dr Ahmad said in the planning proposal: “The building has been identified as suitable for this purpose without the need for any internal or external modifications.
“The only required action is to request a change of class from its current classification, class 4, to a suitable classification for a dental practice, which is class 1.”
The premises at 24 Bank Street is a listed building, attached to Dr Black’s Memorial Hall, which houses a performing arts school.
It also skirts the riverside car park of the Mercure Hotel.
The premises were recently fully refurbished.
