Local MSP David Stewart, Labour has joined the campaign to save  live music at  the Ironworks in Inverness .

The Ironworks has been opened since 2006 and hosts a range of events including many different genres of music. The venue will be demolished if the application to Highland Council by Bricks Capital to build a 162 bed hotel in the centre of Inverness gets the go ahead.

David Stewart said:

“As a live music venue The Ironworks in Inverness is like nowhere else in the Highlands.

“To see this much-loved live music business disappear would be a devastating loss not only to the city’s live music scene but to the cultural and social values of the region.

“Its loss will rip a large chunk out of Inverness’s creative edge and could have a knock-on effect on the retention rates from the University of the Highlands and Islands as undergraduates weigh up where they can have the best quality of life.”

David Stewart has held talks with HIE’s regional development director Carroll Buxton and has requested a meeting with Fiona Hyslop, Culture Secretary in the Scottish Government.

62 Full and part-time staff are employed at the Ironworks.

As part of his campaign David Stewart has launched on online petition to secure a new venue for the business.

Click on the link to the petition here: Find a new home for The Ironworks live music business in Inverness