Defence Online

Plans for a new hotel close to the terminal building at the north’s busiest airport could be close to fruition after years of trying to get the project off the ground.Bosses behind a proposed business park close to Inverness Airport say they have made “encouraging” progress with developing the 120-bed stopover close to the front door of the terminal.Inverness Airport Business Park (IABP) have been marketing the development in recent months and have been in talks with several possible tenants for the project.Business development manager Rory Black said that they should be in a position to make more concrete plans “soon” – adding that it should be “within a few months, we’re certainly not talking years”.The move comes just days after the Press and Journal revealed a row between private flyers and the airport over a so-called “airspace grab” to control the skies above the busy terminal.And in April, developers “fired the starting gun” on plans for a railway station at the airport.In the latest development, the park already have planning permission in principle for the construction of a hotel on the site, which sits about 650ft from the entrance to the terminal.IABP are currently in talks to find a hotel company to develop the site with and would then have to submit a detailed planning application for the project.Mr Black said he felt a new hotel at the airport would be good for the airport and the wider area – as well as helping with the development of the business park.