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.

Inverness finally returning to normal after fire causes months of disruption

Fire crews battle the blaze on Academy Street, Inverness. Picture credit: Twitter user @Jamiefmacdonald
Fire crews battle the blaze on Academy Street, Inverness. Picture credit: Twitter user @Jamiefmacdonald

A key city centre road is finally due to re-open today as work nears completion on the restoration of a fire-ravaged building in the heart of Inverness.

Restrictions on Strothers Lane are expected to be lifted after months of disruption caused by a blaze which destroyed one of the oldest buildings in the Highland capital.

The finishing touches are being made to the interior of the M&Co clothing store on Academy Street, which was gutted in the dramatic fire in April last year.

The shop is now expected to re-open to customers early next month.

The listed building dates back to 1792 when it was constructed as the original Inverness Royal Academy – giving Academy Street its name.

A total of 46 firefighters from throughout the Highlands were called in after the fire broke out, with crews remaining at the site for several days.

The roof and first floor collapsed in the inferno, as well as the internal steel work.

The renovation work at the site has caused major disruption in the city centre, including road closures and temporary traffic lights.

The scaffolding and hoardings have now been removed, revealing the extent of the restoration.

City centre organisation Inverness BID said: “It’s great to see the hoarding has now been removed and preparations to re-open Strothers Lane are under way.

“The road is expected to reopen tomorrow with M&Co re-opening in early September.”

The M&Co shop has been temporarily based at a unit in the Eastgate Shopping Centre since last October.

Above the store, there are three office suites to let in the building.

Project manager Kenneth Veitch, of construction consultants CRGP, said: “Progress has been very good and currently ahead of the approximate dates mentioned previously.

“Compass Building and Construction Services started to dismantle their site set-up last week and are planning to remove the hoarding today, which will hopefully allow the adjacent roads to be fully re-opened.

“Internal fitting-out works are ongoing, and will continue for the next few weeks.

“The store itself and the three office suites for let above are looking fantastic.”