A sports centre within a new Inverness school is bidding for a licence which will allow the public to use it just days before the building is due to open.
The facility within the new £34million Inverness Royal Academy will include two large sports halls and state of the art gymnasiums.
The sports centre is due to open at the same time as the school when pupils return from summer holidays later this month.
The facility will be operated by High Life Highland and will be open to the public.
The organisation has now applied for a public entertainment licence for the facility – which will be considered by councillors on the Highland Licensing Committee.
High Life Highland have applied to run the facility from 7am until 11pm with a capacity of up to 450 people in each of the two sports halls.
A dance studio and gymnasium will each accommodate 60 people, while a fitness suite will have space for 20 at any one time.
One objection was made against the licensing application but has been withdrawn in advance of the meeting.
A resident close to the new school objected on concerns about noise and nuisance as a result of late openings.
However, he has since withdrawn his concerns after High Life Highland indicated that they would be closing earlier, especially at weekends.
A spokesman said: “High Life Highland is pleased to be opening a new sports and leisure facility in Inverness. Inverness Royal Academy Sports Centre (IRASC) will incorporate two large sports halls, a gymnasium, a dance studio and a modern technogym fitness suite. IRASC will open along with the new school building and will offer members of the public access to state of the art facilities outside of school hours.
“Access to the facility will be free for High Life all-inclusive members, with pay as you go and budget rates also available.
“For non-members who wish to benefit from day one, High Life Highland is offering promotional pre-opening memberships until opening day.”
The new Inverness Royal Academy will house up to 1,420 pupils when it opens later this month after a two-year construction period led by builders Morrison’s.
The new school will consist of 171,824sq ft of floor space, including 39 practical, 40 non-practical and five tutorial classrooms, and an additional six rooms for Gaelic teaching.
