Invergordon Museum's bid to create a cinema and theatre at Town Hall boosted after Highland Council gives six-month extension to develop plan
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Charitable trustees seeking to take a historic Easter Ross landmark into community hands will be given six more months to develop their bid.
The volunteers who run Invergordon Museum want to take ownership of Invergordon Town Hall by asset transfer on a 99-year lease at a token £1 a month.
A sub-lease agreement with the firm Highland Castle Entertainment would then see the property, long since fallen into disrepair, revived with a high-end café, a museum extension, 99-seat theatre and the town’s first cinema since the early 1980s.
The High Street building had been proving costly to maintain, with repair bills of up to £10,000 a year, prompting the council to put it on the market with a modest asking price of offers over £70,000.
It is understood there had been around 30 confidential private bids for the premises which were first leased for movies by Invergordon Picture House Company in 1934.
It was closed by then owners Ross and Cromarty District Council in 1984 but operated as an arts centre for a further four years.
The current nearest cinema for local residents is in Cromarty on the Black Isle.
After receiving a 14-page business plan drawn up by Invergordon Naval Museum and Heritage Centre officials, the council was expected to announce new owners before the end of this month.
Agreement to extend the deadline through to the end of November was greeted with delight by Invergordon Museum vice-chairman James Collier.
“It’s great news,” he said.
“They will now go through our application with a fine tooth comb and tell us if we need to give them anything else by way of information and our plans.
“We’ve got six months to go through that process which is great as it means we are getting some support and encouragement.
“It says to me that we have shown we have a good case for taking the town hall, something we want to do for the good of the community and for the good of the town.
“People will come into the town to visit the premises and they will visit shops and help us bring life into the town.
“We weren’t sure if we were going to get anywhere. We thought we might get shot down at the first hurdle, so it's very positive.”
A previous local consultation generated 700 signatures of support for the museum’s proposals.
Mr Collier said there could be further consultation meetings to continue to build support and understanding of the potential benefits of moving the building into community hands.
A spokesperson for Highland Council said: “We are unable to comment on bids from private developers as the offers are classed as confidential.
“The council will pause the marketing of the property while we allow the trustees of Invergordon Museum to continue to develop their proposal.”
The former Town Hall was designed by William Cumming Joass in the Italianate style, drawing inspiration from 16th century classical Italian renaissance style architecture.
At roof level, there a modillioned cornice, a small parapet and three urns and a carving depicting the Roman god of the sea Neptune.
