Plans to build the Inverness West Link has been given full planning permission, the Highland Council has confirmed.

The ambitious project will involve the construction of 3.2km of new single carriageway road with five roundabouts, a swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal and a new bridge over the River Ness.

The road will run from the Southern Distributor Road at Holm Roundabout on Dores Road to the A82 Inverness – Fort William trunk road on both sides of the canal. The route itself follows the river bank from the existing Holm Roundabout to a fixed bridge crossing the River Ness at the Precast Concrete Works/River Ness weir. The road then continues to follow the toe of the Caledonian Canal embankment to a tandem canal swing bridge arrangement at Tomnahurich, before linking at Glenurquhart Road to the east side of the canal.

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In addition to the West Link, planning permission in principle was granted for a mixed-use development at Torvean, Inverness, which will feature an 18-hole golf course, practice area, new golf clubhouse and maintenance building. There will also be the creation of a sports hub comprising sports pitches, fitness trails, car parking and a building to accommodate changing/shower facilities, as well as parkland areas at Torvean.

A planning application for an extension to Kilvean Cemetery has been withdrawn at this stage, subject to satisfactory completion of further ground investigation works, the local authority added.

Council Leader Drew Hendry said: "Granting of planning permission is a significant landmark in the progress of this vitally important project. The benefits for Inverness from the completion of the Southern Distributor Road are immense, both in terms of freeing the city centre of congestion and allowing the growth of neighbourhoods at Ness-side and Torvean/Charleston."

(JP/MH)