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City centre offices could be turned into flats


By Val Sweeney



Church Street
Church Street

A FORMER office block in the heart of Inverness is set to take on a new lease of life as self-catering holiday apartments.

The Glen Mhor Hotel has submitted a planning application to turn the block between 8 and 14a Church Street into 29 apartments and to add a rooftop extension.

The upmarket company acquired the building earlier this year for £1.7 million.

In recent years, owners Jon and Victoria Erasmus have developed their flagship hotel in Ness Bank to provide more bedrooms as well as adding luxury self-catering accommodation.

Their plans for the building come as the city is witnessing a boom in the hospitality sector which is set to see hundreds of extra tourist bedrooms created in the next few years.

Other ventures in the pipeline include the former Bridge House building – directly opposite – which is set to be transformed into a hotel.

The application, submitted to Highland Council, features 12 one-bedroom and 17 two-bedroom apartments, each with its own private bathroom, kitchen and living area.

Access would be via Baron Taylor Street and the new top floor would offer views across the city.

A design statement submitted with the application states the hotel seeks to enhance the growing requirement for city centre accommodation.

"Tourism figures for the city demonstrate a strong and steady growth," it states.

"Indeed at time, there is a higher demand for accommodation than the current supply can satisfy."

Mike Smith, manager of Inverness business improvement district, described the planned project as "very exciting"

"This is a major investment on the part of Jon and Victoria Erasmus," he said.

"It brings back into a use a building which needs invest-ment and bringing up to date and will complement other new ventures in the city."

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