£370,000 savings from Town House staff move
At a glance
About 100 local authority workers look set to vacate Inverness Town House
Highland Council said the 140-year-old building was no longer suitable as office space
The move would save the authority £370,000
The council said the building's owners would continue to get revenue from events
- Published
Highland Council hopes to make £370,000 in savings by moving its staff out of historic Inverness Town House.
The local authority said the 140-year-old building was no longer fit for purpose as office space for its 100 employees based there.
It said more suitable offices would be found for the workers and it would cease payments to the Inverness Common Good Fund for use of the property.
The local authority said money would still be generated for the fund from almost 300 events held each year, including public meetings, dinners and weddings.
A meeting of the full council will be asked to approve the relocation of staff.
Winston Churchill
Built to a Flemish-Baronial style, the Town House was opened in 1882 by Queen Victoria's second son Alfred.
The building hosted a gathering of Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George's UK government cabinet in September 1921.
He was on holiday in Gairloch, Wester Ross, and brought his ministers - who included Winston Churchill - together in Inverness.
The meeting was called following Ireland's rejection of King George V.
Debate that day in 1921 led to the drawing up of the Inverness Formula which guided later discussions on the treaty creating the Irish Free State.
The Irish Free State eventually became the Republic of Ireland in 1949.
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- Published29 August 2017
