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.

Demolition of blaze-hit hostel in Inverness gets underway

Demolition work yesterday began at the Eastgate Hostel in Inverness.
Demolition work yesterday began at the Eastgate Hostel in Inverness.

Demolition workers yesterday began razing to the ground a fire-stricken hostel in Inverness – six years after it went ablaze.

The hostel, situated opposite the Eastgate Shopping Centre, has been shrouded in scaffolding and hoarding since the blaze, where over 50 guests were evacuated when the alarm was raised in the early hours of April 3, 2013.

Nobody was injured in the fire.

However, the Eastgate Hostel has stood as an eyesore since, despite numerous failed attempts over the years to address the unattractive sight.

Yesterday, a skip was present as workers from Beattie Demolition began removing advertising boarding around the base of the scaffold.

Local groups and representatives have welcomed the news that demolition has finally begun.

Chairwoman of Crown and City Centre Community Council Pat Hayden said: “As a community council we are delighted it has started as it is something we have been very distressed about.

“It has taken far too long and in such a prominent site in the city centre.

“We always quote M&Co as an example on Academy Street. They had a fire upstairs and worked extremely well on refurbishing and rebuilding and that is what should have happened here. They did a great job and we want to see similar happen here.

“Having now started, it mustn’t stop. It is excellent news and we need to just keep going day in and day out until the job is finally done.”

In total, work is expected to last up to 12 weeks, with disruption to local businesses and pedestrians aimed to be kept to a minimum following an extensive plan spearheaded by representatives of Highland Council and Inverness Business Improvement District (BID).

Motorists are advised that access to Eastgate via its junction with Crown Road to the Inglis Street junction is to be closed until Friday, with access for emergency vehicles and deliveries to be granted on approval from the contractor.

Inverness city manager David Haas said: “With work having started council officials will continue to ensure that arrangements are in place which provide for the owners to carry out an efficient and effective demolition process.

“This will involve regular meetings with affected businesses and the owners and representatives and we are particularly grateful for the support that Inverness BID have given in this regard.”

Workers are now set to remove the front of the building, with stone being set aside to be reused upon the commencement of refurbishment works.

Plans have previously been submitted for the site to be redeveloped into flats and retail units.