Royal Mail Sorting Office

Opportunities

• Opportunity to create civic square and repair townscape.
• Opportunity to use Library entrance as main entrance for combined Library and Gallery/Museum.
• City Centre Location.
• Royal Mail has indicated a willingness to discuss relocation of the sorting office to accommodate the Highland Gallery and Museum.
• Proximity to library and the potential for links and shared use spaces.
• Potential to create enclosed and sheltered sculpture court.
• Potential site to north to allow for bus station relocation.
• Generous site area.
• Capability for on-site service access.
• Good access to existing car parking.

Constraints

• The quality of the proposed site is compromised by the current location of the bus station.
• The new building is constrained by the existing listed library and 4 storey public car park to north.
• Site has no connection to library at present and service access to library needs to be maintained.
• Site has restricted outlook to all sides due to car parking and service access.
• Pedestrian Access to site is of poor quality and requires enhancing to create high quality entrance.
• Massing of new building should mediate between single storey library and 4 storey car park.
• Existing location of bus station detracts from the potential quality of library and proposed gallery entrance.
• Cost of demolition and unknown ground conditions.