A large farm steading at Viewhill Farm in Inverness is to be partially demolished.

The move comes amid fears over the safety of the building, the Highland Council has said.

From Monday 20 January, the area in question will be fenced off, with remedial work scheduled to commence on Monday 27 January.

In a ruling, Council Building Standards officers said there was no option but to demolish parts of the building for structural and health and safety reasons in order to make it safe. All work will be carried out under the supervision of a structural engineer. Once the building is declared safe, the contractor will leave the site until the relevant permissions are in place.

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In a statement, a Council spokesman stressed that the demolition would have been required irrespective of the outcome of any planning application for developing the site. On appeal, Inverness Properties, which owns the building, have permission to construct 16 homes on land at Viewhill Farm.

A dangerous building notice under sections 29 & 30 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 had been served on the owner, requiring them to carry out the appropriate works to make the building safe. Progress on the 16-house development could only begin once the relevant and necessary permissions were granted.

(JP/IT)