Barclays has lodged a warrant for a £656,000 refit of a vacant shop at 50-52 High Street, Inverness.
Major UK banking giant Barclays could be moving into Inverness High Street after plans for a £650,000 refit of an empty shop were lodged with Highland Council.
The well-known bank currently operates a small Barclays Local pod within Inverness’s Eastgate Shopping Centre.
Prior to that opening, earlier this year, the bank had been on the lookout for a more permanent base for its staff and facility – having been suddenly left without a bricks-and-mortar site when its previous home inside the Spectrum Centre was forced to shutter its doors last August after the Farraline Park building suddenly ceased operating.
And it seems that its search for a new home did not end with the subsequent opening of its Eastgate pod, for now a newly-submitted building warrant appears to have revealed that Barclays will be moving into 50-52 High Street.
The warrant, which lists Barclays as the applicant, is proposing £656,000 worth of “internal and external refurbishment works to an existing commercial retail unit, including minor layout alterations, replacement finishes, upgrade to shopfront elements, and installation of new mechanical and electrical services”.
No further details regarding Barclays’ plans for the unit were provided in the document.
Given the prominent location, and size of the vacant shop, it is also unclear if Barclays’ plans are for a simple like-for-like replacement of its previous Barclays Local, or whether it will boast additional facilities.
The bank had previously run a full branch in the city’s Union Street, but closed it two years ago and downgraded its facility to a non-cash handling Local within the Spectrum Centre before its sudden unexpected closure last summer.
A Barclays Local offers much of the same banking facilities as a full branch – such as in-person financial support and advice on subjects like digital banking – but does not handle money.
Barclays has been approached for comment.
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