Seagull control efforts in Inverness city centre have been handed a £12,000 boost; Highland Council awarded the cash from the Inverness Common Good Fund
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A PROJECT to control the gull population in Inverness city centre will continue after it was given £12,000 from Highland Council.
It was part a number of grants from the Inverness Common Good Fund totalling £101,898 which will be given to Inverness BID to help fund various projects – subject to budget approval.
BID will make up the remainder of the £18,000 for the gull management project which since 2012 has seen the removal of almost 11,500 eggs from area – this has resulted a reduction in the number of breeding pairs of gulls by 25 per cent since 2016.
Peter Strachan, the BID chairman, presented the annual report, for December 2018 to January 2020, to city councillors at Inverness Town House last week.
He said: “I was delighted to have the opportunity to address the city committee today to update them on BID’s activities and in particular the projects which BID delivers for Inverness City Centre in partnership with Highland Council.
“We thank the councillors on the committee for their ongoing support for these projects and the funding from the Inverness Common Good Fund.”
Inverness Provost Helen Carmichael endorsed the council’s partnership with the BID, and said: “I am delighted to hear about the ongoing progress being delivered by Inverness BID with Inverness common good funding to enhance the economic wellbeing of the city centre through the coach friendly project, floral displays, gull management, marketing, safety and amenity projects.
“The partnership approach between BID and the council provides added value to project delivery in the city.
“Inverness BID represents over 850 city centre businesses with an income levy of around £200,000 in 2019/20. This levy has been invested in joint schemes with Inverness Common Good Funding of £102,000.
“Without this shared approach many of these projects would not have been possible by the local authority alone. We welcome Inverness BID’s continued partnership working.”
The coach ambassador project, to welcome tourists, will be delivered with joint funding of £9700 from the Inverness Common Good Fund and £6800 from BID.
A total of £58,300 common good funding was approved to allow BID to install
717 floral displays around the city centre – the grant will cover 70.6 per cent of the £82,600 for the project.
