Calum Ross
The owners of a historic hotel in Inverness are poised to press ahead with plans for an expansion.
The B-listed Drumossie Hotel secured planning permission two years ago to remove a small porch and build a steak house restaurant at the northern end of the main building.
The extension was to be semi-circular and glazed, aimed at creating a “transparent appearance”, and was to include alterations to the stairs at the hotel’s main entrance.
Work was never carried out on the project, but now the four-star hotel has indicated that it is ready to proceed with the plans – and has applied for permission to make the proposed extension larger.
Documents lodged with the plans state: “The owners recently decided to progress with the proposals and commissioned an interior designer to investigate table layouts among other design aspects and this has established that the extension is not large enough to make the proposal viable.
“The current application is to increase the size of the previously approved extension, maintaining the same transparency as previous and with no major alterations to the existing facade as previous, and as such we do not consider the changes to significantly alter the impact of the original consent.”
The extension would comprise a lightweight structural steel frame, with circular columns set back from the frameless glass frontage.
The design statement said: “The extension reflects the art deco style of the hotel but in a modern interpretation, giving a truth of architecture to the building and not a poor pastiche mimicking the existing building.”
An outdoor paved area is also proposed, with seating instaled to the side of the building, overlooking the gardens.
In June 2015, Highland Council’s south planning committee voted unanimously to approve the previous proposals, despite a long-running dispute over the replacement of its original steel-framed windows.
The hotel’s owners wanted to instal modern uPVC equivalents as part of previous improvement plans, but the council issued an enforcement order in 2005 seeking the removal of windows which were erected in 2003 without permission.
The row went on for eight years before Scottish Government reporter Phillip Hutchinson granted permission in 2013.
Built in about 1930, the hotel was requisitioned to serve as the headquarters of No. 14 Group RAF during World War II.
