The UK government announces more than £172 million of investment directly into Scotland’s communities as part of the Levelling Up Fund including nearly £20 million for Bught Park and the Inverness Castle project
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Inverness is set to be one of the big winners in the first round of funding from the UK government’s Levelling Up Fund with nearly £20 million earmarked for the city.
In total, more than £172 million of investment will be ploughed directly into Scotland’s communities in the first round of awards from the £4.8 billion fund.
The cash will go to Inverness Zero Carbon Cultural Regeneration – the umbrella term for the redevelopment of Inverness Castle, the Northern Meeting Park and the Bught Park stadium complex.
The criteria to qualify for the funding was rengerating cultural assets, improving the local economy and net zero ambitions.
The projects break down in the following ways:
Culturally, the Inverness Castle project will become a major visitor attraction providing a heritage experience, exhibition, small scale event and retail spaces.
That in turn is expected to boost footfall and visitors to the city to the tune of around 500,000 people a year, which is expected to double when future phases are complete.
Its Net Zero ambitions will see the creation of the Castlehill Waste-Water Heat Recovery system to provide energy for commercial and residential areas in the city centre reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The historic Northern Meeting Park has hosted the city’s Highland Games since 1864 but it is in a poor state and in dire need of restoration to keep it in use.
Culturally the redevelopment will secure the home of the Highland Games, allowing the games to continue but also greatly increasing the use of the venue as a multi-purpose community leisure and event space.
Economically it will maximise resident footfall to new cultural opportunities in the city centre offered by events at the park.
And for Net Zero both the Northern Meeting Park and Bught park will see the creation of an energy centre utilising a Ground Source Heat Ambient Loop.
That will potentially provide heat energy for adjacent properties of Eden Court, Inverness Cathedral and Highland Council headquarters.
Bught Park is the main sports and leisure facilities complex in Inverness and the city’s base for Shinty, It is also the principal venue for commercially driven outdoor concerts and major events in the city.
The culture element will see the redevelopment of the city’s historic home of shinty through a refurbished grandstand, a new interactive museum of shinty and additional event infrastructure to facilitate more large-scale outdoor events.
Economically, that will increase the range and number of annual major events in the city and the Net Zero element will be as above for the Northern Meeting Park.
But Highland Council applied for £80 million worth of funding but in the end only got £19,856,253. Awarded by constituency, Ross, Skye and Lochaber as well as Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross got nothing.
Questions will also be raised why the Inverness Castle project is getting yet another big tranche of cash when it has already benefited hugely from the City-Region Deal.
Finally, one other site in the Highlands got funding – this time through the £150 million Community Ownership Fund.
Administered over four years, to help communities purchase and refurbish assets – including sports halls, cinemas, theatres, parks and shops – at risk of closure.
Applicants seeking to buy out The Old Forge, the only public house on the Knoydart Peninsula, got £219,096 towards their goal.
It was also to aid re-engaging the community and the tourism sector, re-invest in long-term maintenance issues, and redevelopment to get the business running again.
