WATCH: Images of Inverness city centre street feature in newly-released film to mark end of regeneration project

Images highlighting the heritage of an Inverness city centre street feature in a newly-released film.

The short video marks the end of the Inverness Townscape Heritage Project (ITHP) which focused on the regeneration and preservation of the heritage of Academy Street.

Since it began in September 2015, it has awarded £1.75 million in grants.

Highlights include the restoration of Rose Street Foundry, the Blackfriars pub and the decorative stonework to the entrance of Inverness Victorian Market plus the reinstatement of traditional signage on shop fronts.

The project also delivered employability and events programmes with 2041 people attending 67 talks and events.

Project chairman, Councillor Jimmy Gray, regretted the project had come to an end but was pleased it had delivered such a positive impact on Academy Street and beyond.

"Walking down Academy Street now, it’s great to see so many wonderful buildings, such as the Rose Street Foundry and Blackfriars, brought back to life," he said.

"The programme of talks and events shared some wonderful stories from Inverness’ past – from Burnetts’ Bakery to sessions on architecture, geology, transport and traditional music. Informative session on traditional building maintenance and specialist skills will also help owners and occupiers look after their buildings for years to come.

"Importantly, the project also included an Employability Programme to provide support to the unemployed to help them get into work, as well as providing training for apprentices and creating jobs."

"I’d like to thank everyone involved in the project for helping us return a sense of heritage and pride to Academy Street. We would have liked to mark the end of the project with a celebration in person, but I hope this video makes viewers excited to return to Academy Street and I wish all of its businesses the very best as they begin to reopen."

The project included:

The restoration of Rose Street Foundry. An Inverness Townscape Heritage Project grant of over £1 million was a significant contribution towards the total cost of renovations, which included the reinstatement of historic mosaics.

The restoration of Blackfriars following a £1.36 million investment (£422,606 from ITHP) that transformed the venue into a high-quality pub with boutique letting rooms.

The restoration of decorative stonework to the Academy Street entrance of Inverness Victorian Market.

Grant funding was given towards the cost of repairs to 21-25 Academy Street.

The Shopfront scheme provided grants to enable businesses to reinstate traditional signage.

Funding was given by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic Environment Scotland via the Inverness City Heritage Trust (ICHT) and Highland Council.

Further details of Inverness Townscape Heritage Project, and the Digital Heritage Trail, can be found at academystreet.org.

Related story: Project to improve vitality of Inverness city centre street

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