Inverness Common Good Fund awards for Inverness BID projects
Inverness Councillors have reinforced The Highland Council’s partnership working with Inverness BID by approving Inverness Common Good Funding to the organisation for a range of projects.
At the City of Inverness Area Committee today, Members approved 6 grant applications to Inverness BID from the Inverness Common Good Fund 2025/26 budget.
The six projects that were awarded funding are:
- City of Inverness Annual Floral Displays 2025 - £54,272
- Wider City of Inverness Annual Floral Displays 2025 - £22,872
- Operation Respect Easter/Summer/Autumn 2025 – £14,804
- Safe Inverness Project 2025/26 - £10,750
- Coach and Visitor Ambassador Project 2025 - £23,847
- Inverness Gull Project 2025 - £16,798
Regarding the application for City of Inverness Annual Floral Displays, Members agreed to move 6 of the hanging basket locations from Bridge Street to outside the Victorian Market.
Members were informed that a site visit to the Bught Nursery is being arranged this May to view the works of the Grow Project and High Life Highland that currently deliver the annual city floral displays.
Following a motion from the Committee Chair, Leader of Inverness and Area Cllr Ian Brown, the Committee voted to award the 2025 Inverness Gull Project the full application sum of £27,050 (which includes £9,663 granted exceptionally from this year's 2024/25 budget). and to:
- acknowledge the commitments made by the Council, Inverness BID, and the city’s population, to limit the problems caused by the growing and increasingly aggressive bird population.
- recognise the overall vulnerability of several natural bird species, the expectations placed on NatureScot in its conservation goals, and the consequent reduction in granting licence applications for egg and nest removal.
- support the range of preventative and non-lethal measures proposed, and would also seek to maintain egg and nest removal.
- urge NatureScot to expedite the licensing process, working closely with Inverness BID and local conservation groups.
- write to the Minister responsible to highlight the situation here with the purpose of creating more constructive relations with NatureScot
- seek to enhance community involvement, and to increase public awareness through educational campaigns, events, and local partnerships, highlighting the programme’s environmental and community benefits.
- Implement with partners a regular monitoring system to track the programme’s success, identifying the positive impacts for future support.
Another meeting to discuss Gulls in the City of Inverness and Area will be arranged for a future date.