Repairs to Inverness town house could cost millions

The town house hosted a historic government meeting in 1921

The exterior of Inverness's historic town house requires repairs that could run to an estimated £4m, according to a report to Highland councillors.

Highland Council officers said significant work was needed to bring the 131-year-old building up to a good standard and tackle crumbling masonry.

Built to a Flemish-Baronial style, the town house was opened in 1882 by Queen Victoria's second son, Alfred.

Councillors have been asked to approve the restoration work.

The building is owned by the Inverness Common Good Fund and is a working local authority building.

In a report to Highland Council's City of Inverness Area Committee, council officers said grant aid would be sought to help cover the cost of the repairs.

Last year, the city committee scrapped a plan to move all their meetings away from the town house.

Meetings of Highland Council's Inverness city committee were to be shifted to the local authority's headquarters in Glenurquhart Road.

But councillors were concerned the move would diminish the role of the town house.

The building hosted the only gathering of a UK government cabinet outside London.

Liberal Prime Minister David Lloyd George, who was on holiday in Wester Ross, brought his ministers together in Inverness in September 1921.

The meeting was called following Ireland's rejection of the King. Lloyd George had been in holiday in Gairloch at the time.