New owners of former Inverness College site revealed after plot is sold

A key site close to Inverness city centre has finally been sold after sitting on the market for three years.

The former home of Inverness College on Longman Road has sat empty since the building was demolished in 2019.

The plot was put up for sale by UHI in January 2021 and has finally been snapped up by a company headed by prominent city businessman David Cameron.

Camlin, a venture headed up by Mr Cameron and Dundee property entrepreneur Bruce Linton, is the new owner of the site.

What the plan for the site is now remains unclear as the pair are keeping their cards close to their chest.

But it has been zoned for mixed use, leaving a number of interesting retail or leisure options open.

That is welcome news for people in Inverness desperate to see an eyesore site brought back to life.

Inverness College site sale brings UHI chapter to a close

Documents seen by the Press and Journal show that the property changed hands on December 13 last year.

The price of the sale has not been disclosed – but the neighbouring plot which is now home to the Inverness Justice Centre was sold for £750,000 in 2016.

Given this site looks bigger and, coupled with inflation, it is likely that this sale will have topped £1m.

However, the three years it spent on the market is bound to have landed Camlin a discount.

A spokeswoman for UHI Inverness confirmed the sale.

She said: “We can confirm we have sold the cleared plot on Longman Road that was the site of Inverness College.

“The sale of the final piece of legacy estate draws a chapter of our history to a close.”

What could the site be used for?

A brochure for the site shows that it has been zoned for mixed use in Highland Council’s local development plan.

The 4.5 acre plot could be used for offices, leisure or retail.

But whether a supermarket giant, restaurant chain and adventure firm is willing to dip their toe in remains to be seen.

The land’s future has been uncertain since UHI moved to its £100m Inverness Campus home in 2015.

The college building itself dates back to the 1950s.

David Cameron has been involved in numerous Highland property developments over a period of decades.

He is also a director at Caley Thistle.

Bruce Linton is the owner of Scotia Homes and has numerous other business interests, mainly focused in Dundee and Tayside.

Both declined to comment on their plans for the site.

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