Plans to extend the biggest shopping centre in the Highlands and create five new restaurants are expected to be given the go-ahead next week.
Councillors have been urged to approve three applications designed to transform the Eastgate Centre and Falcon Square in Inverness.
The Press and Journal revealed on Monday that proposals had been lodged to expand the shopping centre’s Falcon Square façade to help make room for four new restaurants on the ground floor level.
Planning officials have recommended that the application be rubber-stamped at a council meeting next week, alongside two others which pave the way for an extension to the Filling Station restaurant and for the existing Laura Ashley to be turned into another eatery.
The creation of a new bar and restaurant on the roof of the Eastgate Centre is expected to follow as a second phase of the work.
Bosses at the centre hope the new ground floor restaurants could be open by next summer, if the plans are approved next week.
The Eastgate extension, which will wrap around the corner by the rail station, will add 4,575sq ft to the centre, plus another outdoor seating area of 1,260sq ft.
In a report to councillors, planning officials said: “This proposal brings an opportunity to transform this area into a functional lively social space, injecting new vibrancy to this part of the city as well as providing better connectivity with both the shopping centre and the adjacent railway station.
“Coupled with securing a developer contribution towards streetscape improvements, in particular an enhanced pedestrian crossing point, it will further strengthen this connectivity with other areas of the city centre.
“The successful revitalisation of this civic space will contribute significantly to delivering a more coherent sense of place for Falcon Square.”
As part of the same project, a the category C-listed Filling Station building on Academy Street would be extended out onto Falcon Square.
The extension will join onto the gable elevation of the adjacent Falconer Building, where the existing Laura Ashley will be turned into another new restaurant.
The proposals were first suggested in January by Scoop Asset Management, which bought the Eastgate last summer from BMO Real Estate Partners as part of a £116million deal.
A detailed planning application for the Eastgate Centre was lodged last week with the local authority.
Councillors will consider the applications at a meeting of the south planning committee on Tuesday.