The development of a hotel at the former Ironworks site on Academy Street will not go ahead, the Press and Journal can reveal.
After months of speculation surrounding the site’s future, we can confirm the plans will be withdrawn following the collapse of the developer.
In 2022, Bricks Group secured planning permission to replace the Ironworks with a 155-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel as part of a £30 million project.
The Ironworks closed its doors in February 2023, but there has been no sign of demolition after all this time.
And we can now reveal that the controversial project will not go ahead.
Hotel development at Ironworks site will not go ahead
Bricks Group contacted the Press and Journal after our story was published.
A spokesperson for the group said: “Please note that Bricks Capital (UK) Ltd has gone into liquidation and that Insolvency 360 has been appointed as liquidator.
“The Marriott hotel development, optioned by Bricks Inverness Capital Ltd, is not going ahead and the application will be withdrawn.
“The liquidator will determine the future of the property.”
So who did own the Ironworks building?
The Ironworks building was acquired in 2016 by Upland Properties Limited, controlled by well-known Inverness businessman David Cameron.
In August 2023, he said the sale to Bricks Group was to be completed within a couple of weeks.
And Mr Cameron told the Press and Journal on January 14 this year that he was no longer the owner of the Ironworks.
A Scottish Land Register (SLR) document acquired by the Press and Journal on January 8, 2025, had, however, shown that Upland Properties Limited was still officially the owner of the site.
A spokesperson for the SLR did add: “A sale may have taken place, and the solicitor might not yet have submitted the application, but there is nothing on our records to indicate that a sale has taken place.”
Contacted separately by the Inverness Courier, Mr Cameron declined to confirm whether the sale had gone through.
He told them: “I’ll tell you this, it is none of your bloody business.”
The newspaper reported that he had put the phone down after it was put to him that the future of the site “was of great significance to Inverness and its residents”.
The Press and Journal’s interactions with Mr Cameron ended little better back in January, when we pointed out to him that, according to the official register, his company still owned the Ironworks.
He replied then: “If you’re telling me, you know better than me, so you just do what you want.”
The businessman thereafter hung up.
Ironworks: The story of a controversial failed development
In August 2022, local councillors narrowly approved plans to demolish the beloved Academy Street music venue to make way for a hotel.
The controversial vote was split seven for and seven against the proposal with the chairman having the casting vote.
There was also one abstention.
The decision was a huge blow for music lovers in the Highlands, with Inverness losing its largest concert venue.
The planning application was officially granted on June 8, 2023.
It included the replacement of the Ironworks with a Courtyard by Marriott hotel, featuring 155 rooms, a café, a restaurant, and two gyms, as part of a £30 million project.
However, after nearly two years, there was still no sign of work, leading to speculation about the future of the former live music venue.
Today, almost three years after councillors voted in favour of the development, it has been confirmed that the project will not go ahead.
However, questions about what will happen to the site are still unanswered, with administrators having the fate of the once beloved concert venue in their hands.
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