Inverness City Centre Development Brief - The Highland Council

Inverness City Centre Development Brief
2. East of Academy Street
This area extends from the Iron Works at Chapel
Street to Falcon Square and east from Academy
Street to Railway Terrace. Incorporating some of
the City’s most important buildings and with
excellent transport linkages the area East of
Academy Street offers many major regeneration
opportunities.
Dedicated Business District / Student Hub
The area provides an ideal setting for both the establishment of a dedicated business district
and the creation of a student hub including accommodation and union. This would help to
create a vibrant and lively daytime and night-time environment by encouraging a range of
new users including young people and office workers. It would also exploit the valuable
characteristics of the area including its central location, transport links, height of existing
buildings and view over the city.
Due to its physical characteristics and surrounding land uses the Academy Street action area
is one of the only areas with potential for multi-storey development. As a result there may be
an opportunity to (re)develop more elevated buildings in the area. This would help to add to
the value of development by offering excellent views of the river and over the city from the
upper floors and the feasibility of uses, such as retail, office, tourism, housing and parking.
Any new development in this area, however, must be of the highest quality and demonstrate
clearly how they sit within and complement the surrounding area including the neighbouring
Conservation Areas.
Transport
This district also includes both the main bus and rail stations and for thousands of people
these are their first experience of Inverness and the Highlands. Therefore the Council will
encourage the improvements to the area surrounding the stations and to the frontages
themselves.
Streetscape
Following a phase of review of the existing streetscape works, there may be scope to extend
the scheme into a third phase, should funding become available. As the main through route
and a key retail location there is significant potential to improve Academy Street. By
widening footpaths, creating clearly-defined pedestrian crossings and removing clutter it
would make Academy Street safer, give active travel users confidence and shift the
dominance from the car towards pedestrians. Soft landscaping may also enhance the
entrance of Academy Street and create a welcoming atmosphere.
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