Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘A much-needed resource for Inverness and the Highlands’: Discovery College gets go-ahead to open in Eastgate Centre

Planning permission has been granted for the first facility of its kind in the region.

The college is housed in the former Argos strore in the Eastgate Centre Image Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
The college is housed in the former Argos strore in the Eastgate Centre Image Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Mental health support will have a visible presence in the centre of Inverness soon after the Highland’s first Discovery College was approved.

Highland Council has granted planning permission for a change of use of the former Argos store in the Eastgate Centre.

The community-based learning facility is now set for an official opening in September.

Discovery colleges are common in England and in rural Canada.

But the Inverness centre is just the fourth in Scotland and the first in the Highlands.

It will use collaborative models to deliver physical and mental wellbeing courses and peer support to people and communities with lived experience of mental health and/or substance use.

Who is behind the Discovery College?

The idea is led by mental health charity Centred Scotland which has been keen to open a safe space as part of plans to regenerate Inverness city centre.

It aims to partner with other organisations to start a similar face-to-face venture in Caithness, while also offering online support.

Eventually, the aim is to have a series of similar colleges set up across the Highlands.

Internal alterations to the Inverness premises are being carried out to create a reception area and five rooms.

Donna Booth with Centred Scotland chief executive David Brookfield outside the premises in the Eastgate Centre Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Donna Booth was appointed the Discovery College’s first manager in February. She said she is delighted the council has given the go-ahead.

“We have been doing lots of development in the background and will officially open at the beginning of September.

“Having a space like this in the middle of the Eastgate will bring mental health, wellbeing and recovery into the heart of the community.

“As well as the college courses and groups, we will also provide space for other organisations on a one-off or regular basis and drop-in relaxation and meeting spaces.

“A lot of hard work has gone into getting to this stage and we are very grateful to everyone involved and to the planning committee for approving this much-needed resource for Inverness and the Highlands.”

How can the college help mental health?

The college prospectus also includes wellbeing and mindfulness support, self-reliance programmes and classes including yoga and tai chi.

Students can be referred, or self-refer online. All the classes will be delivered by a subject expert and a qualified peer support worker.

A major driver for the facility is the Highlands’ consistently high rate of death by suicide.

Mental health issues have also increased since the pandemic which exacerbated isolation issues.

Are you interested in all the latest news and updates from Inverness? If so, why not join our new Facebook group.