1 week Ago By [email protected] (Andrew Henderson)
The future of the proposed at Inverness Campus remains up in the air with less than a month to go until approval lapses. As part of a broader redevelopment of the campus, a commitment was made to build a new sports facility on site. but no work has commenced since.
However, The Inverness Courier can reveal courtesy of a Freedom of Information request that no working group meetings or correspondence between Highland Council and relevant partners UHI or HIE has taken place since before the application was approved two years ago. A request for communications relating to the project was answered with a chain of emails, including representatives from different departments of Highland Council, HIE, UHI and High Life Highland at various stages, the most recent of which was dated April 26, 2023. The emails confirm that the total construction cost of the project was estimated in September 2022 to be £2.
76 million – broken down into £835,000 for the changing facility with full cladding, excluding the foundations, connections and any changes required to fulfil the new Building Warrant requirements which come into play that December; and an already over-budget £1.92 million for the pitch and civils work. At that time, the budget for the project was £1.
26 million, and so it was recommended that only the pitch and access should progress with the building to house a changing facility set to follow in a later phase of development. however that funding could have been withdrawn as a condition of the grant was that the project should be completed by April 1, 2022. Heads of terms around the purchase of the plot of land from HIE dated September 27, 2022 also reveal the cost of the land was £501,225 plus VAT, with HIE reserving the right to repurchase the land at that price should either planning consent fail to be granted within one year from completion of missives, or if thereafter construction of the development was not completed within a further two years.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club and the Scottish Football Association were also represented on the Steering Group for the overall development. the immediate future of the project remains up in the air..
