Oldest house in Inverness set for a new lease of life
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Planning permission has been granted to create retail and café space on the ground floor of Abertarff House.
It will allow owners the National Trust for Scotland to bring new life to the Church Street building, which dates back to 1593.
Approval was granted by Highland Council subject to two conditions.
The first states that cooking, heating and reheating within the application site should be
limited to the use of a coffee machine, microwave and soup warmer only – to safeguard the amenity of neighbouring properties – while the other related to storage of refuse.
Katey Boal, visitor services manager at Abertarff House, welcomed the news.
“We’re pleased that the application has been granted and we’re now making plans for how to
progress the project which will add to the facilities on offer at Inverness’s oldest secular building,” she said.
Abertarff House was described as a beautiful but under-utilised building according to the planning application.
It added there was a strong opportunity to build a “boutique visitor experience” that explored the diverse and vibrant history of Inverness, delivered a small-scale events programme and provided opportunities for commercial engagement.
The trust said: “This would include personal and quirky histories such as the Inverness Battle of the Cheeses which took place in the mid-17th century on a rolling exhibition schedule; there would be opportunities to display exhibitions of photography and community art projects.
“Sitting alongside this, a small retail and catering offering could be delivered on the ground floor.
“The catering offer would be predominantly takeaway-focused, however there would be up to six seats available for those who wished to enjoy the ambiance of the site.
“Additionally, the first floor would house a small meeting room that could also be used for community events.”
It is proposed that an interpretation panel discussing the building and the conservation story associated with it is installed at street level.
The building is considered to be an important example of 16th-century domestic architecture and it has witnessed the Covenanting times, Jacobite risings and two world wars.
Over the past 50 years the site has served a series of functions including, at one point, being the head office for the trust in the Highland region.
