Inverness Bellfield Park community sauna gets planning permission from Highland Council amid mixed feelings from the public and councillors over the pros and cons
Plans for a community sauna in a popular Inverness park have been approved by Highland councillors amid mixed feelings.
The applicant Community Sauna Highland has been granted permission to erect the sauna with capacity for up to 26 people in the popular Bellfield Park in Inverness.
Mock-up plans show the sauna as occupying two small modular wooden buildings with a plunge pool, rest area and changing room, enclosed within a fence and gate.
The site is positioned in the southeast corner of the park, beside the tennis courts and the outdoor gym area.
Council planners reported that: “There has been significant public interest in this application with opinion evenly divided between those supporting and those objecting to the proposal.”
This was also reflected in today's meeting, with Cllr Michael Gregson highlighting that there were: “As many objections as there are representations in support”.
Some councillors praised the potential benefits for users, others raised concern about noise disruption, impact on trees, a lack of customer toilet provision and car parking space.
Cllr Isabelle Mackenzie acknowledged the potential health and wellbeing benefits for users, but expressed concern about the “industrial architecture” of the sauna, and suggested the building be altered to make it more fitting for a heritage site.
The wide range of opinions was also reflected in the public comments submitted through the consultation stage, with the weighting of those in favour and those objecting split 50-50, and one comment being neutral.
Following the initial proposal for the site, some concern was raised about what efforts could be made to maximise walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport as alternative travel options.
In response to this, councillors have approved the development plan with the additional condition that operators include adequate parking provision for cyclists.
This condition was suggested by Cllr Chris Ballance and aims to encourage people to cycle to the location rather than drive.
