Planning permission has been given for a new £23m Inverness Justice Centre, which will finally allow Inverness Castle to be relieved of its role of hosting the sheriff court.
It will allow the red sandstone structure above the River Ness to be transformed into a major tourist attraction as part of the multi-million pound City Deal financed by the Scottish and UK governments.
Highland Council's planning committee embraced the “landmark” design submitted by Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS) for its new court facility on the site of a former bus depot. It is close to Burnett Road police station and the former Inverness College building.
The new two storey “V-shaped” complex will include six court rooms and provide offices and a base for different organisations involved in the administration of justice in the Highlands.
It is hoped to be opened by 2019, and could herald the return of High Court cases to the Highlands for the first time since 2013.
It will have over 80 parking spaces, but some councillors were concerned that most would be used by people working there, leaving members of the public having to park elsewhere.
An SCTS spokesman said: “The Inverness justice centre is an exciting development with its unique vision is to bring together justice organisations to improve the delivery of justice within a purpose-built fully integrated facility.”
It is proposed that around £15m of the £315m Inverness City Region Deal will be to turn Inverness Castle from a courts building into a major visit attraction. It was built in the 19th century on the site of an 11th-century defensive structure, and acted as a prison until Porterfield Prison was built nearby at the start of the 20th century. The latter building could soon be vacated as well.
Councillors heard yesterday the Scottish Prison Service had now submitted a document to notify the Highland Council that it was preparing a planning application for the new prison on a site next to Inverness Retail Park off the A96, on the eastern edge of the Highland capital.
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