​Draft Inverness City Centre Development Brief meets Members’ approval

Members of The Highland Council’s City of Inverness Area Committee have agreed a draft development brief for Inverness City Centre which will now go out for public consultation at the end of January 2017.

The public will have 6 weeks to comment on the draft development brief in January and February. Details of the public consultation process will be advertised and promoted in due course by the Council and will be available on the council’s website at www.highland.gov.uk/developmentplans in the New Year.

Findings from the public consultation and a finalised development brief will be reported back to the City of Inverness Area Committee on 16 September 2017 for adoption as supplementary guidance. Once adopted the final development brief will replace the existing Inverness City Centre Development Brief of March 2013 and will form part of the Council’s statutory Development Plan, which influences decisions on development .

Provost of Inverness and Area, Cllr Helen Carmichael said: “The development brief sends a clear message that the city centre is open for business. It’s where we want people to invest, work, live and visit. The Brief highlights development opportunities for a range of different uses across the city centre, with detailed guidance on key sites in the Station area, Castle Hill, Crown and Longman Road.

I would encourage anyone who has an interest in Inverness city centre – especially residents and businesses with interests in the key sites - to make sure that they have their say next year when the consultation goes live. It will be important that opinions are heard through the consultation, as the final Development Brief will promote and guide opportunities for development, regeneration and enhancement of Inverness city centre."

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