Plans to bring a leading bar brand to Inverness city centre are in doubt after BrewDog application is rejected
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The Aberdeenshire-based craft beer producer announced plans earlier this year to open a bar in Inverness, at the site of the former Ashers bakery in Church Street.
The planning application has been refused, however, because it contained insufficient information, particularly in relation to the extraction of odours from a planned pizza oven.
City centre councillor Bet McAllister said she thought Highland Council officers “probably” made the right decision, though it was not necessarily the end of the road.
“They would have to have extractor fans,” she said.
“Maybe they will resubmit the application.
“Maybe they will come up with a better idea.”
Pat Hayden, chairwoman of Crown and City Centre Community Council, said it had not formally commented on the application because the feeling was it was down to market forces whether or not a new bar opened.
“If they want to open a pub when there are already so many of them in the city centre then good luck to them,” she said.
“I think they will resubmit the plans – they have gone to a great deal of effort so far.”
While neither Inverness Business Improvement District (Bid) nor Inverness Chamber of Commerce wanted to comment on the latest development both organisations previously welcomed the news of BrewDog’s plans for the Highland capital.
When it was first announced in January, Bid manager Mike Smith said the fact the iconic brand was looking at Inverness said much for the local
hospitality sector.
Stewart Nicol, the chamber’s chief executive, said it would complement the city centre’s existing club/bar and food and drink offering.
BrewDog was launched in Fraserburgh in 2007 by friends Martin Dickie and James Watt who declared their mission was to make other people as passionate about craft beer as they were.
The company has grown rapidly in the past few years and now employs more than 1000 staff in dozens of bars across the UK as well as seeing significant international expansion.
In January, the firm announced: “The people of the Highlands have long asked for a BrewDog Bar and this is the year they will get one. Currently in discussion, BrewDog Inverness will hopefully not be far away.”
The planning application was for a change of use for the premises from a commercial unit to a public house.
According to supplied documentation, BrewDog had proposed using the existing extractor system fitted by Ashers.
The application had also attracted one objection, from resident Kap Hing Wan, who lives next to the premises.
“The noise level, especially after midnight when customers leave the premises, will disrupt our standard of living within our own apartments,” they
said.
“Another bar on Church Street, which already as several bars, would not be advantageous for the image of Inverness, considering this street is in the centre of town and visited by tourists.”
In its own statement as part of the planning application BrewDog said: “Terms have been agreed on the site, subject to obtaining the necessary planning consents to facilitate their occupation of the property.
“The proposed change of use will enable the applicant to begin trading from the property, ensuring that these currently vacant premises can be brought into a productive, economic use that will create employment, contribute to the vitality and viability of the centre of Inverness, and enhance the city centre’s overall offer with the presence of a well-established, popular and reputable bar operator.”
Neither BrewDog nor their agent responded to requests for comment.
