Inverness guest house’s planned expansion ‘of vital importance’ amid growing pressure from Highland budget hotels
A popular Inverness guest house is seeking a major expansion in a bid to “remain competitive” amid a surge in the number of budget hotels in the city.
The Whinpark Guesthouse, located on Ardross Street, currently boasts 16 en-suite bedrooms, but will expand to house 26 if plans for a new one-and-three-quarter storey extension are granted.
The applicant, Rowan Guest House Group, said the plan marked a “considerable financial investment” in the guesthouse and was being made in response to the “increased number of ‘budget’ hotels that have recently been or are in the process of being constructed within Inverness city centre and surrounding areas”.
If approved, some of the existing extensions at the rear of the C-listed property, which the applicant describes as “disjointed and unsightly” in documents submitted with their plans, will be demolished. The footprint this will free up, combined with much of the existing open space at the rear of the property, will be occupied by the new extension.
This will feature five en-suite bedrooms on the ground floor, and a further five on the first-floor. There will also be some internal room layout alterations where the new extension will join on to an existing one-and-a-half storey rear extension, which is being retained. Most of the internal alterations within this existing extension will be on the ground floor, although new dormer windows would be installed on two first floor bedrooms that would be losing their existing wall windows to accommodate the new build.
In a supporting statement lodged as part of the application, the guesthouse said: “The scheme has been prepared in response to the increased number of 'budget' hotels that have recently been or are in the process of being constructed within Inverness city centre and surrounding areas.
“As travellers demand greater facilities at increasingly competitive rates, this has left the traditional guest house proprietor with no option but to consider upgrading and modernising in order to remain competitive.
“The design as submitted will provide a total of 26 bedrooms (all en-suite) by adding 10 new en-suite rooms in a 1.75 storey extension to the rear.
“A very similar design was granted planning consent and listed building consent in 2012 and the proposed design is heavily based upon this previously approved design.
“The main difference between the previously approved design and this design is the current owners and applicants wish to keep the 1.5 storey stone and slate extension and build off from its rear elevation.”
The business, which has no private off-street parking for guests, also moved to address potential concerns planners or residents may have over the extension’s impact on existing parking in Ardross Street and Ardross Place either side of the hotel.
It said that around 40 per cent of its guests arrived without their own transport, and “there is no reason to doubt this ratio will change by increasing the number of rooms”.
It continued: “If the same ratio of guests with transport is adopted, then… [it] is not going to add any great additional strain on the surrounding parking facilities.
“The property is currently served by the existing parking currently available on Ardross Street and the nearby cathedral car park. As the majority of guests tend to arrive after 4pm, the proprietor notes that guests do not report issues with finding parking spaces.
“With several large hotels being constructed in Inverness with limited parking provision, it is vitally important that traditional guest house owners are allowed to compete on even terms therefore the same criteria adopted in granting permission must be considered for this application.”
In a concluding statement it added: “This project will see a considerable financial investment being made by the proprietor therefore the decision to progress and submit a planning application… has not been taken without a great deal of thought.”
It continued: “Taking into account the need to compete with the new breed of budget hotel chains it is of vital importance this application is granted permission to be able to keep competitive.”
The new extension would feature a natural slate roof, white timber windows, and brown wet dash harling on the exterior walls. Bins would continue to be stored at the rear of the building, in the remaining space not occupied by the new build.
