A new staff accommodation block in Inverness city centre will help a riverside hotel reopen, its owners have argued.
A planning application has been lodged to build a single-storey annexe on a vacant yard area at the rear of a former B&B at 20-22 Kenneth Street.
The property, which once housed the West End Guest House, has more recently been operating as a seven-bed staff house for employees of Strathness House Hotel in nearby Ardross Terrace.
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That hotel, which also houses the Tiger on the Wall restaurant, is temporarily closed.
And in their planning application for the new staff accommodation in Kenneth Street, the hotel owner’s agents say the addition of this annexe – which will house an extra six employees – will enable it to reopen its Ardross Terrace site.
A supporting statement lodged with the application said: “The new staff accommodation will build on the existing staff accommodation located within the existing house, and will provide dedicated staff accommodation for Strathness House Hotel.
Strathness House Hotel in Ardross Terrace is temporarily closed. Picture: James Mackenzie.
“This additional accommodation is required to sufficiently staff the Strathness Hotel, restoring it to an operational hotel.”
The statement adds that the annexe will be built on the existing yard to the rear of 20-22 Kenneth Street, which is “mostly paved over, with any greenery overgrown, and all existing outbuildings/sheds in a state of disrepair.
“It is proposed these sheds are demolished to make way for the proposals.”
Once built, the existing staff house will provide the new annex with lounge spaces, an office, kitchen and dining space.
The new annexe, meanwhile, will feature three en-suite twin/double bedrooms, each of which will have its own external access door. Each bedroom will also have designated wardrobe areas for staff belongings.
The property at 20-22 Kenneth Street, with the access road (right) leading to the rear where the new annexe would be built.
The annexe’s exterior will make use of decorative features “such as gabled dormers built off the wall head” and will take their reference from surrounding buildings in the area.
Traditional sash windows, natural slate and white renders will “further emphasise the ‘traditional’ character of the annexe as a building which reinforces the character of conservation area [in which it sits]”, the agent added.
There will be no changes to the exterior of the existing building or its shared access onto Kenneth Street.
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