Road near damaged Inverness building to remain closed this week

The street surrounding a Merkinch building which was crashed into recently will remain shut for the rest of this week.

Highland Council have confirmed they're leading works on making the structure of the former William Hill bookmakers safe before handing it back to the building owners.

They also confirmed three households had to be evacuated after a black Mercedes crashed into the building on Pumpgate Street last Thursday night.

Three men were seriously injured and a 43-year-old woman was also injured.

Highland Council say the site remains cordoned off and traffic management in place.

A spokeswoman said: "Temporary propping up works were completed on Friday.

"The design of second and third stage works to provide additional propping and structural scaffolding are near completion and engineers will be on site tomorrow.

"The stage 2 works will allow for more assessment on the interior of the damaged building to be carried out and all being well, the final stage 3 works are expected to be completed by the end of the week.

"At this point, it is planned that the building owners will be given access. However, the Building will remain uninhabitable until further notice.

"The road will remain closed this week and local diversions, which are currently under review, will remain in place.

"The traffic management arrangements are being monitored closely.

"All costs on securing the safety of the building will be covered by the building owners.

"Three households were evacuated from the building.

"The Council’s housing team provided accommodation for one family over the weekend and the others stayed with friends. The housing team is prepared to provide further accommodation should it become necessary."