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.

‘It would be astonishing to desert the building’: Bid to have council meetings return to newly-refurbished Inverness Town House

Council meetings were moved from  Inverness Town House
Council meetings were moved from Inverness Town House

Just months after being relocated, some Inverness councillors are pressing for a swift return to their historic home.

Meetings of Highland Council’s Inverness City Area Committee were moved in May from the landmark Town House to council headquarters in Glenurquhart Road.

The authority said the HQ is better equipped to support new hybrid working, with councillors attending meetings in person and online.

It looked like the end of an era for the Town House, which opened in 1882 and completed a multi-million pounds upgrade last year.

Why is a Town House return being called for?

But four Liberal Democrat councillors say a permanent move to Glenurquhart Road would risk losing city identity.

They will put a motion to the committee meeting on September 14 urging the decision is reversed.

It reads: “The venue for area committee meetings is a decision for councillors.

“The Town House has been the centre of Inverness local government for centuries and is well capable of continuing to fulfil this role.

Councillor Alex Graham

“This committee resolves that meetings of Inverness City Area Committee return to the Town House forthwith.”

It is signed by councillors Alex Graham, Alasdair Christie, Colin Aitkin and Trish Robertson.

Alex Graham is an Inverness West councillor and the former Provost. He said: “The Town House is the historic heart of local government in Inverness.

“Our local councillors have been meeting in the chamber since 1882 and on the same site for centuries beforehand.

“If meetings move to HQ, our city identity is lost forever. It would no longer be local government.”

He said the Town House is a Common Good Fund asset and is “perfectly suitable” for meetings.

Town House in ‘fantastic condition’

“It has been used constantly for city committee meetings up until the election without any proposals to relocate.

“The council has spent £7 million of Common Good Fund renovating the Town House.

“It is now in fantastic condition and it would be astonishing to desert the building just when that work is complete.

“Any technical equipment improvements would be minor and only mirror what the council is doing in many other buildings at present.”

A Highland Council spokeswoman confirmed the motion will be discussed on September 14.

Are you interested in more exclusive and breaking Highland and Islands news from the P&J? If so, why not join our dedicated Facebook page HERE

Conversation