Members insist Highland Council bid to take over Town House car park is deferred

Councillors have intervened to prevent the Highland Council from immediately taking over the Town House car park thereby removing a lucrative asset worth an estimated £24,000 a year from the Inverness Common Good fund.

During the investigations around the redevelopment of the whole Inverness Castle site it emerged that the Town House acquired the car park for “statutory purposes” and councillors were due to simply “note” the decision of officials.

The reclassification was to be rubber stamped at the Inverness committee but instead backed a motion from Liberal Democrat opposition leader Councillor Alasdair Christie to defer the move until January 1.

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Cllr Christie argued that it would be “the most logical time to do it” while “the common good fund would get additional money over the Christmas period” with which it can be used to support local charities and initiatives.

Now the final decision will go to the full council meeting next month for approval when the potential for the Common Good Fund to somehow take over the running of the car park will be discussed.

If the common good fund does lose the car park then it will be another major blow to its revenue streams after Highland Council left the Town House and decamped to the main HQ after 140 years to save £370,000.

It means that potentially within the space of 12 months the fund will have lost close to £400,000 annually in ongoing revenue due to decisions taken by the council.

The car park is an income generating asset with an estimated 2023/24 revenue budgeted at around £24,000 however before operational costs are deducted the actual income earned in the first six months of this financial year is £30,000.

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