The supplier of climbing walls to the Tokyo Olympics has been awarded a £500,000 contract to create a state-of-the-art facility in Inverness.
An adventure sports hub will open later this year after being granted planning permission in January.
The Ledge charity aims to create a centre in Telford Street which will have Scotland’s only Olympic-standard bouldering wall, as well as climbing and training facilities for people at every level.
The centre will be run by climbers and open to anyone hoping to learn new life skills and improve their mental wellbeing.
As well as around 1,000 square metres of climbing space, the centre features a gym, cafe and shop.
The charity says it will create about 40 jobs and boost the local economy by £1 million.
The climbing walls will be built by Entre-Prises (EP), which has developed projects across the USA, Asia, and Europe.
Daniel Hodgson, from Entre-Prises UK, said: “We are delighted to be working with The Ledge on this exciting project, which will bring fantastic climbing facilities to Inverness and the Highlands.
Centre will deliver a ‘vertical living’ centre
“This contract represents a huge opportunity to showcase our capabilities as the world’s leading manufacturer of climbing walls.”
As well as providing Olympic-standard facilities, The Ledge aims to develop its ‘vertical living’ social impact programme.
This includes mentoring, supported access for schools for clubs and special needs groups, vocational skills, and community initiatives.
In partnership with NHS Highland, the University of the Highlands and Islands and youth workers, the charity aims to offer users skills gained through climbing as a springboard for better coping strategies.
Marc Peart, who will lead the social impact work, said: “Our role is to ensure that there are no barriers to access and that The Ledge is an amazing resource available to the whole community across the Highlands.
“We can do this by listening to, and working with, the community and those groups advocating for young people and adults.
“We have already started to develop these key relationships, but I am keen to hear from businesses with social responsibility programmes, and education and social care colleagues.
“I can’t wait for the day the wall opens and we see the climbing community, with an Olympic-standard bouldering facility, working to deliver sustained social impact.”
A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help build of the centre.
Centre could attract 50,000 people
The cost of building was previously estimated at £3m and is hoped it will attract upwards of 50,000 visitors each year.
The Telford Street site was third time lucky for the charity which began exploring potential sites in 2015.
An initial plan for a site at Inverness Marina was shelved and an application on Lotland Street was rejected due to its proximity to a petrol distribution centre.
