Plans for a multimillion pound transformation of the heart of Inverness are “ready to go”.
Bosses at the Eastgate Centre have lodged a new application to give the mall and Falcon Square a major facelift.
Five new cafes and restaurants could be built as part of the plans, which business leaders hope will inject “great vibrancy” and help create a “continental-style” civic square in the heart of the Highland capital.
A new bar and restaurant would be built on the roof of the Eastgate, offering panoramic views of the Inverness skyline.
It is hoped the other four restaurants could open as soon as next summer. They will be built on the ground floor level, looking out onto Falcon Square.
Highland business leaders last night hailed the project as a key step towards “transforming” the city centre.
The proposals were first suggested in January by Scoop Asset Management, which bought the Eastgate last summer from BMO Real Estate Partners as part of a £116million deal.
A detailed planning application for the revamp was lodged last week with the local authority, and the centre hopes to win approval for the scheme later this year.
Eastgate Centre manager Jackie Cuddy said: “It’s really exciting that we have finally got to this point and, subject to planning permission, we are all ready to go.
“I think it will bring a great vibrancy to the city centre and I don’t think it will have a big effect on other restaurants because it will be different family-aimed restaurants.”
She added: “We would like to have the ground floor completed by next summer. We’re in very strong discussions with a couple of tenants.
“We’re at the point now where the building blocks are in place.”
The Monsoon store, which currently fronts onto Falcon Square, will be moved to another unit inside the centre to make way for the new restaurants.
The proposals have evolved from a previous plan for new shops and a cinema, which were inherited by Scoop Asset Management.
The redevelopment – which could also be complimented by an extension of the Filling Station restaurant – could pave the way for extended opening hours within the shopping centre.
Mike Smith, manager of city centre group Inverness Bid, said: “We’re very pleased to see this now coming to fruition and that the building blocks are now in place.
“We think it will be a good addition to the city centre. Falcon Square at the moment is a ‘move through’ place and I think it will develop more as a location to stay and eat.”
The expansion will be built at the same time as a £13million revamp is completed at Inverness Shopping Park, where new Nando’s and Frankie & Benny’s restaurants are expected to be open by Christmas.
While the new tenants at the Eastgate have not been confirmed, The Restaurant Group, which owns Frankie and Benny’s and the Filling Station, had previously been in talks with the centre about opening another new Frankie and Benny’s and one of its Chiquito franchises in the mall.
Stewart Nicol, chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said: “I think it will be a really good addition to the offering we have in Inverness.
“Certainly I think the number of quality restaurants here in itself is becoming quite a feature of the city.
“We’ve got a number of changes around the city centre and creating Falcon Square was really good, but I think we could do more with it.
“We’re really starting to get things transformed in the heart of the city, which is great both for Invernessians and the tourists we get from around the world.”
