Fresh plans have been lodged for a multimillion-pound development aimed at helping transform the heart of Inverness.
New designs for an expansion of the Filling Station eatery in the Highland capital can be revealed today – with the project viewed as key to a major revamp of the city’s Falcon Square.
The owners of the Eastgate shopping complex were left “surprised and dismayed” in September when planning committee members controversially rejected its initial proposals for the C-listed building.
Scoop Asset Management threatened to walk away from the scheme in the wake of the decision, which it branded “perverse”.
But councillors insisted the design “failed to protect and enhance” the building’s “rich and diverse cultural and natural heritage”.
Now the firm, which bought the shopping centre in 2015, has lodged revised proposals for the site, tweaking the extension to create a “light, transparent box” effect.
Under the plans, the Filling Station building in Academy Street would be extended out on to Falcon Square, joining on to the gable elevation of the adjacent Falconer Building, where the existing Laura Ashley would be turned into a new restaurant.
The development is part of a package of schemes proposed by Scoop Asset Management for the heart of the city, including an extension to the shopping centre’s Falcon Square facade to make room for four new restaurants on the ground floor level, while a new bar and restaurant will also be created on the roof of the mall, overlooking the square.
All of the proposals were approved last year, except for the Filling Station development, which is considered to be the final piece of the jigsaw.
In documents lodged with the planning application, the developer says the scheme would help prevent antisocial behaviour in the square, by removing a space between the Filling Station and Laura Ashley buildings used by groups of youths.
It claims the provision of more family restaurants is “essential for the future viability of the city centre”.
It adds: “The Filling Station proposal has been developed to increase activity in the square, improve pedestrian access and movement in and around the site, as well as provide a new and improved experience for its users.”
Inverness chamber of commerce chief executive Stewart Nicol welcomed the revised development proposals last night.
He said: “It’s very positive. I don’t know the detail but if they have taken appropriate consideration of some of the concerns raised, that’s positive.
“It’s really good that key bit of the city centre is getting developed in an appropriate manner, and also it’s tying-in with what is going on at the Eastgate Centre.
“It’s starting to create quite a hub right in the city centre, which is essential. We start to get a really good experience for people coming into the city centre.”
Councillors on the local authority’s south planning committee rejected the initial proposals in September amid claims the planned extension was “devoid of any architectural merit”.
After the surprise refusal, the developers were advised to have the plans looked at by the Inverness Design Review Panel, with the group favouring the new orthogonal design, with the use of glazing across the facade rather than combinations of glass and stone.
Last night, planning committee member Thomas Prag said: “I made the motion to reject it, which was on the grounds that we could do better.
“It’s a very important space, Falcon Square. We need to get it right.
“I don’t think many of us had a problem in principle. I think the issue was around design, so we will be happy to look at the revised plan.”
