Public consultation on further development at Inverness Campus

A programme of public consultation gets underway this week (Friday 24 January) on plans for the next phase of development at Inverness Campus.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has led the development of more than 40 hectares of the site so far and is now inviting people from Inverness and surrounding areas to help inform the planning application for phase two.

The organisation has appointed strategic planners Turnberry to prepare an updated masterplan for the remaining undeveloped area of the site, based on the vision set out in the original design concept and updated to reflect the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport status.

A public exhibition of the proposals will be held at An Lòchran,10 Inverness Campus, on Friday 24 January (between 11.00 and 18.00) and Saturday 25 January (between 10.00 and 14.00), with members of the design team on hand to answer questions and collate feedback.

A follow up event will take place at the same location on 21 February (between 11.00 and 18.00) and 22 February (between 10.00 and 14.00), providing an update on the plans.

Audrey MacIver HIE area manager with responsibility for Inverness Campus said:

“This is about gathering feedback on our current plans for the next phase of development at Inverness Campus and using this to strengthen the proposals before we move forward.

“It’s about maintaining momentum and building on the strong progress that’s been made so far.

“We look forward to welcoming people this week and hearing their thoughts on the draft proposals. All the feedback we receive will be considered carefully as part of the planning application and there will be a further opportunity to input at the event in February before we finalise the masterplan.”

HIE has been developing Inverness Campus since 2007 with construction starting in 2013. The development has supported the growth in key sectors such life sciences and encourages collaboration between business, academia and research.

Since its opening in 2015 the Campus has grown into a world-class business location and is already home to 16 commercial enterprises as well as organisations such as UHI, SRUC, NHS Highland and HIE.

Turnberry submitted a ‘Proposal of Application Notice’ to The Highland Council in December setting out plans for a programme of pre-application public consultation, with a view to a full planning application in the spring of 2025.