Owners of former William Hill building in Inverness told to urgently repair building
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Motorists may have to put up with road restrictions in Merkinch for some time following a car crash six weeks ago.
Last month Donna Stewart (43), from Inverness, made no plea to accusations of seriously injuring and attempting to murder her partner or former partner, Hugh Lowther, Stephen Macdonald and John Fraser, while at the wheel of a Mercedes E220 when it careered into the side of a building at the junction of Grant Street and Lochalsh Road on January 21.
Diversions for traffic have been in place since due to the building being unstable and now Highland Council says that the road network will only go back to normal once owners of the property get some work done.
“The building was handed back to the owners last Monday and they and their insurers now have responsibility to carry out the necessary works to repair the building,” said a council spokeswoman.
“Our role was to make the building safe in the first place under the Building (Scotland) Act but once handed back to the owners it is in their hands to organise the necessary repairs and we have no control over timescales or what happens next. This means that the existing road restrictions remain in place.
“Our officials have made it clear to the owners the urgency there is in getting these works done due to the inconvenience to local residents and businesses affected by the traffic restrictions.”
Three families were moved out of their homes after the car crash, as a precaution, and they are still not able to return.
“The road restrictions need to remain while the external scaffolding is in place as it encroaches the pavement and road,” the council spokeswoman added.
“The time scales are very much dependent on when the owners carry out all the necessary works so the external scaffolding can be removed.”
The owners of the property have been contacted for a comment.
Read more about the former William Hill building here.
