Hootananny seeks Highland Council planning approval to turn Inverness rock venue Mad Hatters and second floor bar into luxury rooms
A luxury B&B will replace thumping R&B in an Inverness city centre music bar and restaurant if plans before Highland Council are approved.
The owners of Hootananny in Church Street are seeking permission to turn the first floor Mad Hatters rock bar and second floor Glow Bar into seven up-market bedrooms.
The business is taking the decision in response to changing trends in the hospitality industry and the boom in demand for rooms fuelled by the North Coast 500 tourist route and other initiatives.
Owner of the multi-award winning live music venue Kit Fraser has previously given guarantees that the ground floor bar, renowned for live traditional music performances, will continue as before.
The loss of Mad Hatters amounts to a fresh blow for the city’s live music scene following the demise of the Ironworks premises on Academy Street, which is to be demolished to make way for a new hotel.
A design and access statement produced for Hootananny explained that the previous use of the top two floors had become “commercially unsustainable”.
It said: “They were only open for two nights a week and did not earn enough to cover the costs of staffing, so a new sustainable use was needed for the top two floors of Hootananny. There is currently a thriving market for tourist accommodation in Inverness with the explosion of interest in the North Coast 500 and other initiatives driving yearly increases in visitor numbers to the Highlands.
“The conversion of these currently unused upper floors of the Hootananny pub will offer a small number of good quality ensuite rooms to visitors who are keen to stay in an authentic Georgian building in the heart of Inverness, above one of the centres of live Scottish traditional music.
“The proposals offer a commercially viable lease of life to this beautiful listed building, giving it a sustainable future.”
Part of the work would involve investment in the building’s fabric, including replacing dilapidated sash windows with new conservation standard, double glazed timber sash windows.
Central heating would be installed, powered by a renewable air source heat pump.
New room layouts would be sympathetic to ceiling cornicing, with historic features retained.
Significant work had already been carried out on updating the building to current fire regulation standards.
Efforts had been made to ensure that hallways and bedrooms would be "generously proportioned" to promote ease of access, although it had proved impossible to include a lift in the design and create a wheelchair friendly room.
