A multimillion-pound justice centre promised for Inverness can still be delivered on time, according to the local MP.
Drew Hendry is optimistic despite the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) withdrawing from a deal to buy its preferred site beside the city’s Burnett Road police station.
He said yesterday (MON) he was sure an alternative, nearby location could be found if needed.
The project will bring the courts, Crown Office, social work department, Women’s Aid and Citizens Advice Bureau under one roof.
Failure to finalise a deal last month with the mystery seller of the former bakery site was a regarded as a serious blow by city leaders keen to free Inverness Castle of the shackles of a court complex in order to tranform it into a fully fledged tourist attraction.
The SCTS withdrew its offer for the site because certain conditions could not be met by the deal’s closing date.Talks, however, continue with the vendor while “alternative sites” are also considered.
Mr Hendry, who was co-chairman of the Inverness Castle Working Group alongside government minister Fergus Ewing, said: “I’m sure other locations will have been and could be considered should the preferred option not be deliverable.
“I don’t believe this will affect the timetable. There is a substantial amount of time to complete the move that’s required to free up the castle.”
He said the commitment to build a justice centre remained “absolute” and that the project “should not interfere with the future development of the castle in terms of opening that up as a visitor attraction.”
Mr Hendry did not rule out an alternative site within the city’s Longman industrial district.
“I’ve no doubt that work has been done to identify suitable alternatives should they be required,” he said.
The Scottish Government has guaranteed the £23million funding for a justice centre but never identified alternative sites.
The deal continues to be shrouded in commercial confidentiality. Two land agents are involved in the proposed sale of the Burnett Road site. Neither would commment on the matter yesterday.
The SCTS declined to expanded on a previous statement that “conditions could not be met by the closing date.”
The Burnett Road site could have repercussions for the long established Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, which leases an adjacent site owned by the city’s common good fund.
The council’s city manager David Haas said: “If that was the case we would, of course, have proper and constructive discussions in that regard. They are tenants and we respect that.”
No-one from the centre could be contacted for a comment.
