Highland Council's role in redevelopment of Inverness city centre
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Inverness city centre is undergoing a major facelift with a number of regeneration projects under way aimed at revitalising the area and increasing investment.
The driving force behind most of these projects is Highland Council, which is encouraging such investment as well as sourcing funding from organisations including the Scottish Government.
Inverness Provost, Councillor Helen Carmichael (Aird and Loch Ness, Independent), said: “Highland Council has a crucial role to play in encouraging investment and development in Inverness city centre.
“We are committed to work with the public and private sectors and in many cases, on joint projects. It is encouraging, the amount of new investment which has been made recently and is proposed for Inverness.
“The projects being delivered cover a wide range of sectors and obviously I am delighted that the castle project is now beginning to take shape – the recently issued artist’s impressions look fantastic.”
The man who has the job of helping developers to bring their various projects to reality, in both the private and public sectors, is Allan Maguire, the council’s head of development and regeneration.
He said they tried to identify potential sites for regeneration which could revitalise the city centre.
There are currently around 10 projects in the area which have either been recently completed or are being built or are still under investigation.
He said projects could involve a mixture of commercial and residential uses, such as the development at the former Farmfoods site in Academy Street, which could provide much needed affordable housing. “The housing is easier and we work very closely with the Scottish Government,” he added.
Mr Maguire said the Scottish Government could provide funding for projects such as the City Region Deal and housing grants.
He said: “What we try to achieve is to see what properties we can bring back into use and see what sources of funding are available.
“It’s constantly changing and the Scottish Government is constantly bringing out new initiatives. There are a variety of funding sources.”
Mr Maguire said the project to transform Inverness Castle into a tourist attraction was helped with funding from the City Region Deal as well as grants from both the Scottish and UK governments.
Plans for the four-year project will include the creation of a one-storey building to link the two towers of the castle and create new opportunities to maximise the views from the west side looking over the river.
A well that was all that was left of the original castle, which occupied the site until it was destroyed in 1746 and was later restored in 1909, will be preserved and incorporated into the new part of the building. All proposals are subject to approval through the statutory planning processes.
Mr Maguire said it was good to see confidence growing for projects within the private sector and added: “Part of the battle is to try to get private sector investment into the city centre.”
He said there were a number of areas which were either currently being redeveloped or planned for regeneration in the city centre including Raining’s Stairs, Academy Street and Church Street.
Mr Maguire said: “They were previously identified as potential projects and now they have moved through to reality. They have been developed in partnership with the private sector and it’s great to see that in action.”
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