The sale of a landmark church has fallen through after a year of negotiations, it has been revealed.
The Old High Church, which has links to the time of St Columba and is Inverness’s oldest building, was put on the market for offers over £150,000 last year.
An offer for the Church Street building was accepted by the Church of Scotland in November 2023.
But the church said that the sale has now fallen through, due to the buyer not coming up with the money.
A spokesman for the Church of Scotland said: “Unfortunately, after 12 months of negotiations, the prospective buyer has been unable to produce the funds in order to complete the purchase of the Old High Church.
“Missives were concluded with a contractual date of entry of 1st November 2024.
“The purchaser failed to complete on schedule and is now in breach of the missives.”
‘Extremely disappointing’ for Old High congregation
The historic kirk has not held a service since January 2022.
There has been a question mark over its future for some time – and the latest move once again ramps up that uncertainty.
The building will now be re-advertised for sale.
The Church of Scotland spokesman added: “This has been extremely disappointing for the congregation of Old High St Stephen’s, which continues to bear the costs associated with the care of one of the city’s oldest and most historically significant buildings.
“The church will once again be placed on the market and we hope this will lead to a successful outcome for both the congregation and Old High, enabling it to be preserved for future generations, and the wider Inverness and Highland community.”
Could the failed bid open the door for a local group to step in?
There were several offers made for the church last year.
One of them came from the Friends of the Old High group, which unveiled a bold vision for the church’s future.
It wanted to re-open the church as a performance, exhibition and community facility.
The group was formed in 2015 to help care for the building and welcome visitors, long before it was at risk.
Its bid was ultimately unsuccessful – but it may now get a second bite at the cherry.
Thomas Prag, a member of the Friends and a former Inverness councillor, said: “It’s a great shame.
“Such a waste of a year, all while the building has deteriorated.
“But it may provide another opportunity for it to be used by the community, to become something of a public place again.”
Friends of the Old High secretary Jean Slater said the news was “extremely disappointing”.
How did we get here?
After being part of the city’s landscape for centuries, the church’s congregation held its final regular service in January 2022.
The Old High was one of a number of Church of Scotland buildings facing closure due to declining numbers of worshippers.
In 2021, the congregation voted 179-71 to close the Old High and retain the joint charge of St Stephen’s.
The joint kirk session and Inverness Presbytery also voted to shut the Old High.
The decision has been passed to the Kirk’s General Trustees who own the building.
Locum minister Rev James Bissett gave the final regular sermon.
He said at the time: “Whatever happens, Christian worship will carry on in the town.
“Understandably, people are a bit upset. It’s been a building they have had a connection with for quite some time.
“I like to think there is a future for the building, but what that will be, I don’t know.”
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