Highland outdoor sports enthusiasts asked to back plans for top class climbing and adventure centre
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A charity behind ambitious moves to create an international class climbing and adventure sports centre in Inverness is urging enthusiasts to rally behind the plan.
Just before the pandemic hit in March, the team behind The Ledge Climbing Gym project was close to realising the dream of starting work on a £3 million new-build base at Inverness Marina.
But through the summer, it became clear that changes in the banking climate would create too long a delay.
The Ledge chief executive Duncan McCallum, who co-presents BBC Scotland’s Adventure Show, said the charity decided instead to search for a ready-built premises to redevelop.
They have secured a soon-to-be vacated warehouse at 12-14 Lotland Street in the city’s Longman estate.
It would be used by the general public and also in charity work to improve people’s lives through sporting activity. It is estimated the centre would generate £1 million a year for the local economy and create 46 jobs.
A planning application has been lodged with Highland Council and Mr McCallum is asking the climbing and adventure sport community to demonstrate just how popular the project would be by writing letters of support.
He said: “The Marina project would still be alive if we could have hung on for another two and a half years.
“Our job in leading the charity is to try and get the project delivered as quickly as possible. A lot of our grants from Sportscotland and The Robertson Trust couldn’t sit around waiting that long. It became quite obvious in late June or early July, to us and the developers, that we would need to go down a different route.
“We were three days away from breaking ground, with all funding and design work in place. To be shut down was very frustrating.
“We started looking at alternatives and luckily the current tenants’ lease at Lotland Street runs out in the summer next year.
“If we get through planning, we can start work designing all our walls from very early in January. It’s exciting.”
The previous plan would have cost £3 million for the new-build and another £1 million in the sporting fit-out. The new site requires a £1 million refurbishment cost and £1 million fit-out. It could feature a state-of-the-art climbing wall, gym, yoga centre, café bar, changing facilities and meeting spaces.
Mr McCallum added: “The demand for a centre like this is very high in Inverness, with the regional plan showing the city will grow massively. Lots of people are moving to the Highlands for the fantastic outdoor resource and lifestyle.
“These are exactly the types of people we would like to use the building.”
Those wishing to voice support for the project can do so at Highland Council’s Planning portal here .
Click here for more news
