Boom time of Inverness city centre
BOLD plans for a new hotel could be the final piece in the jigsaw to revitalise one of Inverness city centre’s most rundown streets.
Developers have released the first images of a 210-bedroom hotel they want to build on the site of the low-level Rose Street car park, behind Academy Street.
City leaders believe it will help the transformation of the key location by introducing hundreds of visitors to that part of town, as well as reducing congestion.
Other plans under way for the historic thoroughfare include:
- Two new bars – work is ongoing to turn the former AI Welders building into a new bar and restaurant for the Cairngorm Brewery while it was announced in April that the historic Blackfriars pub, closed for 18 months, is to be transformed into The Optimist, a new bar with rooms;
- New flats and shops on the former Farmfoods site, currently under construction;
- Refurbishment of the stonework and entrance for the Victorian Market;
- A new frontage for Inverness railway station as part of a £6 million transformation of the site;
- The creation of a more pedestrian and cycle-friendly layout for the street, with Highland Council earlier this year submitting an application to sustainable transport charity Sustrans Scotland to cover detailed design work and consultation.
The artist’s impressions of the proposed hotel show Hampton by Hilton branding along its side, but developers SRP Inverness said it would not officially confirm who the operators were until planning permission was granted.
The plans also propose that a new one-way street is created between the hotel and Rose Street Hall which would route buses directly out of the adjacent bus station and onto the A82, rather than them having to exit into Academy Street as they do at present.
SRP Inverness says it wants to introduce a new international hotel brand to the city that “supports the growing demand for Inverness as a key tourist destination”.
Inverness Provost Helen Carmichael said: “I haven’t seen the detailed plans for the proposed new hotel, but I certainly welcome all the investment that is coming into this part of the city, including a considerable amount from the Heritage Trust for preserving the older buildings.
“Getting the non-local service buses off Academy Street would help it at peak times.”
Inverness Central councillor and Deputy Provost Bet McAllister said: “There is a lot going on in Academy Street and not before time.
“Academy Street used to be the main street in the town, but it has been very downtrodden for too many years now.
“Getting housing back into the street as well is very welcome, not just for younger people but for the elderly too who can have the facilities on their doorstep.
“A hotel could bring benefits to businesses all around.”
