House plan for Invergordon High Street secures Highland Council approval
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A LONG-vacant shop site in the heart of Invergordon looks set for a possible future as a house, after Highland Council approved its change of use.
Applicant Mike Maggs is seeking to convert the ground floor shop and existing rear extension into a home at 42 High Street – the site of the former High Street News store.
Under the plans the single storey home would feature a snug, two bedrooms – one of which would be en suite – and a kitchen/living area. A security gate would also be fitted to the property's small courtyard access out onto School Lane. School Lane itself would not be affected.
The building's first floor, which sits above the shop front, is already a separate flat and would be unaffected by the application.
Granting permission, Highland Council planning officers said the shop site is located “within a predominately residential part of the town centre” and has a “long history of vacancy”. They also said that a precedent for the site’s conversion had already been set by previous conversion applications for the same shop. These had been granted, but had since lapsed.
They said: “As present, the vacant shop unit represents a noticeable gap in a procession of residential frontages along the south side of High Street and it is not considered that the proposed conversion would materially change the character of this part of the town centre.
“The unit is small and would require major renovation work to bring back into the original use.
“The conversion proposals would serve to bring further residential use into the area and would convert a semi derelict site, to the benefit of wider amenity.
“On balance therefore, the loss of the unit for retail would not impact on the overall viability and vitality of Invergordon Town Centre.
“Due to the design of the proposal, there would be no window to window loss of privacy issues with respect to surrounding properties. The only new external window proposed faces onto School Lane to the west of the development.”
They concluded: “Overall, the proposals represent an opportunity to bring a vacant retail property into a viable residential use without detriment to the vitality and viability of the surrounding town centre area.
“Given the constrained nature of the site, conditions are attached to limit permitted development rights, and to maintain pedestrian access through School Lane.”
