Council planner: Potential closure of Inverness gym, pool and shop 'will be loss to communities'

The closure of a gym and swimming pool in favour of plans for a new bowling alley and inflatable activity course at Inverness Shopping Park will be a loss for the local community, according to a Highland Council planning officer.

However, in an official response to a planning application seeking to create the major new facility inside the building that currently houses Sports Direct and the Everlast gym, planner Lynn Mackay stated that there is currently no policy in relevant development plans for the area that would protect against the change.

She stated: "The potential closure of gym, swimming pool and retail store that currently occupy the building will be loss to local communities. However, there is currently no policy protection in the adopted or emerging development plan that assumes against the loss of such facilities."

In the document, the council official stated that "the principle of the application is broadly consistent with the development plan" however, the developer – Hercules Unit Trust – will need to provide more information on the economic impact of the development, in particular the net impact on jobs.

In July, it was announced that British Land, which owns Hercules Unit Trust and Inverness Shopping Park, was seeking to bring forward a multimillion-pound plan to create a new 10-pin bowling centre and inflatable activity course with associated café and amusements.

The council planner pointed out that "the applicant’s planning statement outlines that the existing tenant wishes to vacate the premises". This has been questioned by sources close to the businesses that would close if the move goes ahead.

Members and staff from the gym have expressed their concerns over the impact it would have on the community, mainly due to the presence of an accessible swimming pool within the facilities.

More than 200 objections have been lodged to date, many lamenting the loss of a popular "community hub".

The council planner's response stated: "The planning statement explains that the bowling centre is expected to employ 40 people (30 full-time/10 part-time) and the inflatable centre is expected to provide 20 full-time jobs. Section 6.5 provides a slightly higher figure of around 65 jobs. In the absence of any evidence or breakdown, these figures appear high.

"It would be useful for a breakdown of job roles within the proposals to be provided alongside any evidence of the number of employees at comparable leisure uses. A full-time equivalent job figure should be provided. An indication of net impact on jobs should be provided, this should include the number of jobs that may be lost as a result of the current uses ceasing to operate. Information should also be provided on the wider potential economic impact of the proposals."

Owners at Rollerbowl, in Culduthel Road, also expressed their concerns over the impact the development would have on their business.

However according to the report, the entertainment business "lies outwith any defined centre" and therefore the development plan does not provide any policy protection, saying that the information provided in the planning statement is considered sufficient.

The planning application is set to be discussed at a South Planning Applications Committee meeting.

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