Bid to move Highland Council meetings back to Inverness Town House is rejected
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A bid to bring Inverness area committee meetings back to the Town House has been rejected by the narrowest of margins.
Committee chairman Ian Brown had to table the casting vote after city councillors, who earlier clashed passionately over the issue, were tied at 11-11.
Moves for the return to the refurbished Town House from Highland Council HQ, in Glenurquhart Road, came from Inverness Provost Alex Graham (Lib Dem) along with most of the council opposition members.
They argued that moving to the HQ, during the pandemic, amounted to an attack on local democracy as Inverness would lose part of its identity by decisions not being taken in the iconic city centre building.
On the other hand, administration councillors were counting the cost saying it would leave the council out of pocket by more than £82,000.
Cllr Graham's motion called for making the Inverness historic building a "first-class venue" for meetings, adding that the site is currently "severely underused".
He said: "This committee has made an £8 million investment to renovate the Town House and I, for one, do not want to walk away from it after we have upgraded it and improved it.
"I urge the committee to go back to the Town House and once we are there, we can look at what has to be done to improve that chamber.
"It's about localism and the community that we serve."
This view was strongly opposed by Councillor Emma Knox (SNP), who raised concerns over issues posed by a historic building structure for people with mobility and sensory impairments.
"It seems that the argument for continuing holding the city area committee is that it's always been that way, which in my experience is often the worst argument for doing anything," she said.
"I would argue that the Town House is not fit for holding meetings. The building is notoriously difficult to get around.
"The majestic central stairway, which is a thing of beauty, is an accessibility nightmare.
"I can't believe we are seriously considering spending that amount of money to enable us to continue meeting at the Town House for the sake of tradition and history when we are at the same time today considering whether to increase winter payments so that vulnerable people can heat up their homes."
This was the second meeting of the committee held at the building in Glenurquhart Road following a series of meetings being forced online by Covid restrictions.
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