EXPLAINED: The story behind Inverness's 'stairway to nowhere'
Did you know that Inverness was set to get a viewing platform over the River Ness?
It was part of a city-wide £750,000 artwork project which included the controversial riverside Gathering Place, which has been built near Bught Park.
Originally, boffins involved in the Highland Council project wanted to place the fenced-off platform in Bank Street, opposite the Mercure Hotel, but plans were changed due to health and safety reasons.
When original plans were revealed by the Courier in March 2019, it was said they would let people "engage" with the water.
Designed by Glasgow-based design practice Dress for the Weather it said at the time on its website: "Rest Spaces is one of a series of art initiatives to encourage people to experience and engage with the river as it flows through the city.
“It will encourage people to stop and enjoy the river in a variety of ways: to perch, to explore, to bask, to gather."
Councillor Isabelle MacKenzie, chairwoman of the city of Inverness arts working group, which was overseeing the wide-ranging public art programme of which Rest Spaces is one part, said she thought it was “rather magnificent”.
However, workers were stopped in their tracks the following month after local government democracy campaigner Christine MacLean had expressed amazement that a separate planning permission had not come forward to Highland councillors for approval.
Critics had also dubbed it the 'stairway to nowhere' and questioned its value for money.
By January 2020, plans had changed and it was now destined for a location next to what was once the eighth fairway of Torvean golf course.
Its new home at the Torvean park – used weekly for Parkrun events and other leisure activities – is set back from Loch Na Sanais.
Council officers argued that the location was the best available and that it would allow families and others to “interact at a beautiful location” and that it will “blend in and form part of the park”.
When installed in summer 2021, a council spokesman said: "Its new position will provide families and visitors with some excellent wildlife photography opportunities by having a raised view of the pond.
"It might even turn into a popular wildlife selfie spot and somewhere to stop, take in the sights and sounds of around the water and provide an excellent place to breathe in nature, relax and take time out.
"Countless studies have shown that spending time outside and in a natural environment can also have a positive impact on people’s mental health, something which is more important than ever given the negative effects the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns have had on people’s mental wellbeing."
