Thousands of tourists love Inverness - but locals give it a kicking

If you’ve taken a stroll through Inverness city centre lately and left with a sense that things just aren’t as good as they used to be, you’re not alone.

People are not shy when it comes to pointing the finger of blame about what the problems are and who is responsible for causing them.

Take a look at any online discussion about the city centre and you’re bound to find plenty of people bemoaning the state of things.

But how much of the criticism is actually fair?

The old Inverness

I’ve spent a lot of time this year talking to people about how they feel about the heart of the Highland capital.

Among the older generation in particular, there seems to be a feeling that our city centre is a pale imitation of how it was 20, 30 or 40 years ago.

In many cases, it’s hard to argue. Because undoubtedly, some things are worse.

People fondly remember there being a buzz about the town every weekend.

Tourists lining the street on the Ness Bridge. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

The lead-up to Christmas was a mad time for our shops and Boxing Day sales were a huge deal with big crowds guaranteed.

It doesn’t feel like that anymore.

Online shopping has taken a sledgehammer to our retail sector.

And an era of credit crunches and cost-of-living crises hasn’t exactly made things easy for the traders that have stuck it out.

How does Inverness stack up against other cities?

It’s perfectly valid to point to those things if your argument is that Inverness city centre was infinitely better in 1994.

But take a look around. We’re not alone.

The golden era of the British high street ended a long time ago. And the genie is out of the bottle, it’s never going to go back to the way it was.

Are we running down our city because we’re comparing it to a historic standard that it’s never going to live up to?

The River Ness is a focal point for visitors to the Highland capital. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

If you make it a fair fight, you’ll find yourself heartened to see that the vacancy rates in Inverness city centre are considerably lower than they are in Aberdeen and Dundee.

And if you look further afield, you’ll find places in far-flung corners of the globe struggling against the same things that we are too.

Retail is dwindling and its place at the heart of the city is slowly being phased out and replaced by bars, restaurants and places to live.

Things are changing. But it’s a slow process and there’s no option to just simply skip to the good bit.

Inverness and the future

There are reasons to be optimistic that things are heading in the right direction too.

The revamped Victorian Market has been an unexpected, runaway success story that has been a huge shot-in-the-arm for independent businesses.

And next June, Inverness Castle will finally be open to the public and be given the opportunity to become the jewel in the city’s crown that we all know it can be.