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 brewery plans rejected over parking concerns

Post Thumbnail

Plans for a multimillion-pound brewery which would have transformed the Highland capital’s riverside area have been rejected by councillors.

The owners of the Glen Mhor Hotel wanted to build a spectacular glass-fronted complex featuring a restaurant and visitor centre alongside their premises on the east bank of the River Ness.

But the scheme was scuppered yesterday by worries over parking, road safety and the large scale of the proposed building.

Members of Highland Council’s south planning applications committee voted to block the plans, despite their own officials recommending them for approval.

Councillors agreed the development would bring benefits – including up to 12 new jobs.

But they could not overcome fears about parking problems and the potential impact on busy Haugh Road.

Hotel owners Jon and Victoria Erasmus, who previously said the project was the most ambitious in the city centre, could not be reached for comment last night.

The couple were not present when councillors inspected the site yesterday morning, or at the later debate.

The brewery scheme was aimed at providing a major new tourist attraction for Inverness.

A large glass-fronted building would have been built beside the hotel complex, and two smaller existing buildings would have been demolished.

The council received four objections from neighbours who feared noise and odour nuisance from the brewery and the impact on local roads. Others felt river views would be marred.

However, planner Jim Harbison had recommended approval, and said there would be benefits to the local economy.

But he admitted that the applicants had failed to provide local authority officials with information about the estimated number of coaches and delivery trucks, or the operation of a planned biomass boiler.

The applicants’ suggestion that visitors could leave their cars around busy Bellfield Park or in other city locations was also criticised.

Inverness Central councillor Richard Laird said he wanted to support the plans but could not overlook the road safety issues on Haugh Road and Ness Bank.

Colleague Donnie Kerr said only 33 parking spaces at the rear of the hotel was inadequate and could lead to visitors parking in a sheltered housing complex nearby.

He added: “In one way it saddens me that the site is not big enough to accommodate the development. Or is it not small enough to fit?”

Mr Kerr was also concerned that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency had not been consulted over potential flooding in the area.

Inverness South councillor Thomas Prag said the owners were to be “applauded” for their plans, but he conceded that his colleagues had raised too many issues for the plans to be “tweaked”.

Despite a suggestion from Inverness West councillor Allan Duffy, Inverness that the application be deferred for further discussions, committee members rejected the plans on the grounds of inadequate parking, their incompatibility with the local roads network, and the fact the building line was too far forward of the existing hotel.

However, it is now open to the couple to lodge an appeal with the Scottish Government against the refusal.

Chief executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, Stewart Nicol, said he was “disappointed” with the decision.

He added: “There were challenges with the proposal but overall it was an innovative scheme and would have been a welcome addition to the city.

“It would have been part of a visit to Inverness, not the sole reason for it. People would have parked somewhere else in the city and visited the brewery.”

And Pat Haydyn, chairwoman of Crown Community Council, said she was surprised by the decision.

She said members were supportive of the application but felt that “the main issue of parking should have been addressed by the owners”.