Strong reaction to plans to demolish and rebuild Rose Street multi-storey car park in Inverness

NEWS that very early stage plans are in the offing for the demolition and replacement of a major multi-storey car park in the heart of Inverness have prompted a flurry of comments from Invernessians.

The Inverness Courier revealed last night that HiTrans – the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership – and Highland Council are in the very early exploratory stages of sizing up possible replacements for the ageing Rose Street multi-storey car park.

HiTrans is about to launch a feasibility study into the replacement of the ageing facility with a new car park, and Highland Council has confirmed that it is working "on the assumption" that the old site will be replaced at some point in the future.

The facility, which is decades old, has been showing its age in recent years – with car parking bays and an internal layout that were created in an age where vehicles were smaller than today. The facility has also been experiencing repeated maintenance issues – with the lifts and entrance/exit barriers both experiencing breakdowns on more than one occasion in the past year alone.

Related: Plans at very early stage for demolition and replacement of multi-storey car park in Inverness

It is too early in the process for any firm details on the size and exact location of the replacement car park, although HiTrans' partnership manager Frank Roach suggested it would be very close to the existing site.

Talk of replacing Rose Street's multi-storey car park has sparked a range of reactions online, with some strongly in favour of the idea, while others questioned whether it should be a higher priority than some of the region's crumbling schools.

Reacting on the Courier's Facebook page Paul McIvor said: "The article says that the ageing building has numerous maintenance issues and then talks about lifts breaking down, and barriers not working. Surely it would be cheaper to replace the barrier systems and lifts then?

"Car parking spaces were made for when cars were smaller... Re-paint them bigger? There's been no mention of the building having any structural issues or anything, so it would seem the main reason to pull it down is so they can re-site it for better access to the bus station... Sounds like a big waste of money!"

However, follower commenter Glen Wallace disagreed, responding: "Paul McIvor, the parking bays fit within the structure of the building. There are three between each pair of columns, so reducing them to two would lose about a third of the spaces.

"Irrespective of that, the structure must have a finite lifespan, it must be about 50 years old now and last had a major refurbishment about 20 years ago."

Others questioned how it would be funded, with the likes of Marjory Shane saying: "Seriously where is the magic money tree coming for. to fund? We have schools falling down and no money to fix it repair them.

"If there is money available then it needs to be spent on the major priorities and that is not a car park being renovated or turned into another hotel."

Her views were echoed by others, such as Dave Denoon, who said: "I don't understand how Highland Council funding for this trumps schools (many budgets slashed or gone completely). Rose Street might need replacing but I don't think it's as urgent as some of the schools."

Elsewhere, some raised questioned over the timing of the project, urging those in charge to make sure any replacement was built before the existing site was demolished.

"Lynne Macfarlane: "And where are residents of city centre flats meant to park? Will the rebuild still be close to original and build in tandem? It isn't just visitors or shoppers/city centre workers who utilise the car park, as a resident of centre I use permanently as can't park on street and personally don't want to park on street. [The] new facility HAS to be built before old one knocked down.

Dave McIvor concurred. He said: "Lynn Macfarlane, 100 per cent. I'm in the same boat. Either they need to replace it before knocking the old one down or find somewhere close for people with passes to us in the interim (even if it was the Eastgate or something). The place is wrecked and needs replaced though."

And other comments acknowledged the age of the multi-storey, pointing out that it will need rebuilt at some point regardless of whether it is a high priority or not.

Alan Munro said: "A friend of mine spotted a large crack in the roof, so it sounds like there's more structural issues with the building. It's probably getting to the stage where replacement is going to be better than increased repair costs."

– What do you think? Let us know by email at newsdesk@hnmedia,co,uk.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.