South Kessock eyesore set for revamp
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A NEW commercial development is set to rise from the ashes of a historic South Kessock building which was completely destroyed by fire.
Flames tore through Thornbush House, beside the old Thornbush Brewery in Kessock Road, in March 2020.
The crumbling shell left behind, of what had already been a somewhat dilapidated structure, has since been demolished and removed from the site.
Long before the blaze, the dilapidated 19th century residence had become a much-maligned eyesore used only for storage purposes.
Now Inverness firm Fraser Signs has been granted planning permission from Highland Council to invest a “very sizeable” six-figure sum to create a new multi-use commercial structure.
Under its plans the new development will take the form of a two-storey, dark grey metal-clad building accompanied by four parking spaces.
Three scenarios for its use are envisaged by Fraser Signs, including as either a mix of retail or financial/professional services use with separate storage space or for storage space alone.
A design statement by Colin Armstrong Architects which accompanied its planning application stated that the site was unsuitable for housing development as a result of the surrounding industrial units.
Owner Blair Fraser, managing director of Fraser Signs, said that before the 2020 fire the company had used the former building as storage.
On March 11, 2020, flames lit up the night sky in Inverness as 31 firefighters from Inverness and Dingwall tackled the blaze that led the former building’s destruction.
Two juveniles were later charged with offences related to wilful fire-raising in connection with the incident.
