Keeping the Focus on the Vision: The Inverness Strategy seeks to turn the city's largest civic place Falcon Square into a thriving focal point of the city centre to be enjoyed by all
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A MAJOR theme of Highland Council’s Inverness Vision is actively focusing on areas that are seemingly under-used and not reaching their possible full potential in a bid to maximise improvements to city life.
One such area is Falcon Square – the largest civic space in the city centre – next to the Eastgate Shopping Centre which is crossed by hundreds of people everyday, yet few spend much time there beyond waiting for a bus.
The strategy suggests that the square lacks definition or purpose and sits too close to one of busiest and most polluted streets in the country to be attractive to people.
But that very blandness and lack of appeal presents a “what if” opportunity for those seeking to remodel the city centre as it could provide a gateway to a more pedestrian-friendly and welcoming Academy Street.
Falcon Square is a relatively recent addition to Inverness city centre and only took its current form upon the completion of the extension of the Eastgate Shopping Centre in 2003.
However, it has provided the location for a number of demonstrations and protests as well as a Christmas market too – indicating there is some public appetite to see it better used.
At the moment there is a 37ft tall monument adorned with a unicorn and various birds which are cast in bronze on the square, which was designed by the sculptor Gerald Laing. It also contains one of the main entrances to the shopping centre and an entrance to the adjacent railway station, a bus stop, limited seating and a few trees – and that is about it.
The strategy states: “For a relatively large space, there is a lack of enclosure due to the scale of the surrounding buildings and the dominance of Academy Street passing through the square along its southern edge.
“There is also a lack of diverse uses surrounding the space and a number of blank inactive frontages that contribute little, particularly the current M&S unit within the Eastgate that effectively turns its back on the square. The prevalence of hard surfaces and lack of greenery creates a relatively stark environment with a lack of texture and variety.”
It adds that this contrasts with “a number of UK and European civic spaces that are surrounded by a variety of uses that bring vibrancy, and buildings of a scale that provide a real level of enclosure.”
So what does that mean? The strategy suggests that Highland Council could work with the Eastgate centre to transform Falcon Square into “a more welcoming, inclusive and active civic gathering or events space”.
The look of the square could be improved but critically its uses would broaden – so instead of being a place that people simply walk across to get somewhere else in the city the square would become a focal point.
It could host arts events with a large-screen, open-air cinema or provide a platform for street musicians while the outdoor sections of Borough Market in London are also noted as examples to look at.
