A move to find new uses for the historic but “underutilised” Inverness Town House has been praised by a city economist.
Highland Council is seeking tenders to carry out a feasibility study to find potential commercial purposes for the landmark.
The 19th century building until recently hosted council admin staff and meetings of Inverness councillors.
It also famously was the setting in 1921 for a sitting of the cabinet when a crisis in British-Irish relations blew up/ while Prime Minister David Lloyd George was holidaying in Gairloch.
Money will boost common good fund
But in future the town house could be the setting for more weddings, conferences, small concerts and other events.
The successful bidder will help the council understand the market and possible future income from letting the property.
Money raised will help boost the coffers of the Inverness Common Good Fund.
It is felt the town house will be even more of an attraction when the £36 million redevelopment of Inverness Castle is opened next year.
Inverness economist Tony Mackay says it is a sensible move that could be very useful if done well.
He said: “The town house is a very important building in the city centre and will become more so when the castle changes are completed.
“However, it is clearly very underutilised at present, so it would be good to make better use of it.”
Council staff re-located from town house
Councillors decided in 2022 to stop using the town house for council meetings.
In recent years, around 100 council staff have been re-located from the town house which underwent a £7.4 million refurbishment.
It still houses a council service point and leases office space to other organisations.
Civic and community events will still be held in the building, including the historic kirking of the council ceremony
The council’s Inverness city manager Davis Haas said the study will look at medium and long-term uses of the building.
“We have already started using it for more private events, such as weddings and conferences.
“Thie idea is to get professional opinion on what it would be used for in the future when the castle develops as a visitor attraction and while we’ve got other exciting developments taking shape in and around the centre.
“So what is its role going forward? What can we learn from other experiences when high value civic buildings like this are looking for a new lease of life?
“This is really an opportunity to look at what we’ve got on our hands.
Driving vibrancy in the city centre
“How can we make best use of it so it plays a strong tole in the city going forward, bearing in mind the big investment made in it and the castle.
“The building is very much open for business.”
Mr Haas said the idea is to have the town house serve as a civic hub while driving vibrancy in the city centre.
“It’s not there to make money for the council. It’s there as a common good fund property to contribute to the wellbeing of the people of the burgh of Inverness.”
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