Investment is underway across Inverness city centre with ambitious projects in the pipeline to create a resilient, more vibrant and lower carbon place that attracts people and jobs far into the future.

The Council is leading the way in supporting the city through investment in its own properties, including refurbishment of the town house, remodelling of the Victorian Market and conversion of Inverness Castle into an iconic international tourism attraction.

Housing is a fundamental component of a successful, vibrant and mixed-use place, and a suite of Council-led construction projects is delivering transformation in the historic heart of the city and delivering new homes for people to live in the city centre.

Employment opportunities are supported across the city, with major expansion of life science and healthcare currently underway at Inverness Campus including the specialist NHS Highland Elective Care Centre and HIE-UHI collaboration on a Life Science Innovation Centre.  

Tourism has and will continue to play a central role in the city centre economy, illustrated by the major private sector investments underway creating both additional bed spaces and entire new hotel developments. 

Inverness Rail Station Masterplan is entering its second phase, with major ambitions and aspirations to create positive change for that part of the city centre; including sustainable transport schemes for the city with a combined potential value of up to £40M at various stages of construction or design development; and new low carbon energy generation schemes including HydroNess – the River Ness Hydro project – which has created a renewable energy generating plant on the River that reduces the Council’s carbon footprint, whilst simultaneously adding another public attraction for the city.

The longer term ambition for a Green Energy Hub signifies the potential for the development of the hydrogen economy for Highland with Inverness at the centre.  Further major city investment was secured from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund which awarded £19.9M for the Inverness Zero Carbon Cultural Regeneration Project which combines environmental, cultural and economic regeneration projects in the City. Bringing together projects located along the River Ness, this investment will realise the ambition to deliver a heat recovery scheme for Inverness Castle; major renovation of the Northern Meeting Park, including low carbon heating for its buildings and low carbon heating for the redevelopment of Bught Park Stadium.