Fury over the proposed £500,000 public cost of dressing an Inverness building in a gold coat may force a u-turn on the decision by financially stretched Highland Council.
It has announced that it will review its decision to surround the Inverness Museum and Art Gallery in aluminium cladding as a cosmetic makeover “in the light of recent developments and acknowledging public feedback.”
More than 4,000 signatures have been collected in the fortnight since a petition opposing the idea was posted online.
The project would be funded from the latest “City Deal” handout from the UK Government which promises Inverness £315million for infrastructure investment.
The cladding proposal has already cost the council £2,000 including the fee for a planning application while 400 staff jobs have been axed as part of £50million of savings to budget the books for 2016-17.
In a statement, the authority said: “With the recent announcements of the new (Inverness) justice centre and confirmation of the city region deal, there are now opportunities to review how money can be best spent on improving both the castle and the museum and art gallery.
“Decisions for the future use of the castle as a tourist attraction are yet to be finalised following a recent consultation and this could also possibly have a bearing on the museum and art gallery.
“Following consideration of these developments and listening to public opinion, council leader Margaret Davidson and Inverness provost Helen Carmichael have requested a pause and review of the cladding process.”
Councillor Carmichael said: “In the light of these positive and exciting new developments, it is wise that we pause and review current plans.
“It remains important that every pound we spend on regenerating the city centre gives us value for money.”
Petitioner Donald MacKenzie was delighted with the announcement.
“I like the ‘pause and review’ but I certainly don’t intend to let them pause, review and carry on. It has to be dead. This project is silly and does not add value to the town centre.”
City Liberal Democrat councillor Thomas Prag, who initially applauded the project, yesterday (THURS) agreed that it was correct to step back to “pause and reflect” on the process.
“I’m not against doing something,” he said. “But we need to be sure that it fits in with timetables about the castle redevelopment which are being constantly reviewed.”
Fellow city councillor Ken Gowans, the SNP group’s spokesman on leisure and culture, said: “It’s entirely appropriate this comes back (to the planning committee).
“It should never have gone forward in the first place. It always seemed daft to even consider this expense for a building we can’t afford to open six days a week. We reduced the opening hours to five days as part of past budget cuts.”
The online petition invites people to register their opposition to “stop Highland Council wasting cash cladding an ugly museum to make it a gold-clad ugly museum.”
A letter to be handed to the council on receipt of 5,000 signatures claims that the cladding proposal is reminiscent of the “Golden Bridge” pedestrian crossing over the A9 on the southern edge of Inverness. Critics say the year-old structure has already lost its sheen.
