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.

Vision for homes transformation of historic building takes step closer

Robertson Homes' vision of a restored Gleann Mor House at Westercraigs.
Robertson Homes' vision of a restored Gleann Mor House at Westercraigs.

A housebuilder’s vision of constructing 550 homes on an historic Inverness site will edge a step closer to reality next week when councillors consider revised plans for the timing of the phased development.

Robertson Homes has been transforming a 120-acre site surrounding the former Craig Dunain Hospital into luxury properties for which it was granted outline planning permission in 2005.

Highland Council’s south area planning committee will visit the site on Monday in an effort to visualise the impact on the area, amid some local concern of further development before debating the issues on Tuesday.

The company wants to extend the period of planning conditions governing the timescale for upgrading an access road and work on the listed, fire-damaged, former Craig Dunain Hospital building, Gleann Mor House.

The committee will also consider full planning permission for 51 homes and allow change of use and renovation of the former hospital into 56 residential units – all within the 550 total.

Planning officers have recommended approval for each application.

The process was deferred in March because of the planning committee’s insistence on a site visit.

Robertsons hopes to have 26 luxury townhouses and 30 executive apartments ready to move into next year.

Luxury homes in Gleann Mor House would feature bay windows, turrets and a raft of unique features.

The company says the homes would complement modern, spacious family homes it is building elsewhere on the site.

The first phase of restoring Gleann Mor House, comprising 12 luxury apartments, was completed in 2011.

Robertson Homes has since reconfigured its plans to replace many apartments with townhouses to maximise open space and landscaped gardens.

Its intention is to create a sustainable semi-rural community at Westercraigs including play facilities and green space. The overall development could create 100 jobs including tradesmen and senior managers.

More than 30 residents’ objections have been lodged, ranging from concerns about the loss of trees and impact on local wildlife to “over-development” and possible impact on amenity.

Robertson Homes managing director John Murphy said: “The development is line with the masterplan. It’s approved for the greater site.”

A total of 326 of the proposed 550 residential units on the site are already occupied.