Thurso is set to benefit from a £100m investment into new community facilities as part of the Highland Council’s Point of Delivery (PoDs) programme. Have your say on the plans at local consultation events next month.
Thurso is set to benefit from a £100 million investment in its education and community facilities, as part of the Highland Council’s ambitious region-wide improvement programme, the Highland Investment Plan (HIP).
Across the Highlands, the Council plans to bring key services together in what it’s calling ‘Points of Delivery’ – or PoDs. These new hubs aim to make public services more efficient, easier to access, and better connected, and can include Community PoDs, Depot PoDs and Office PoDs.
In Thurso, the PoD could include a wide range of facilities, potentially bringing together:
- New primary and secondary schools
- Community facilities
- Office and meeting space
- Highland Council depots
- An innovation centre
- Services delivered by local partners such as NHS Highland and UHI
Don’t miss the Thurso consultation events
If you live, work, or study in Thurso, this development is part of your future – and an important opportunity to help shape what the town needs. Highland Council is holding community consultation events to gather your views and ideas. These are the first in a series of planned consultation events as the Community POD project develops.
Council officers will also visit Thurso High School for an information session with staff and senior pupils in December.
Consultation Events
Tuesday 9 December – Gallery Room, North Coast Visitor Centre, 2pm – 8pm
Wednesday 10 December – Gallery Room, North Coast Visitor Centre, 2pm – 4pm
Informal drop in session, no need to book in advance.
Thurso Transformation Delivery Group
To guide this significant investment, a new partnership group has been created: the Thurso Transformation Delivery Group (TTDG). The TTDG will oversee the co-ordination of a number of projects being delivered in Thurso by various partner organisations, helping partners, stakeholders, and the community work together effectively.
A key aim of the group is to identify opportunities for innovation, skills development, and long-term social and economic benefit—ensuring the investment delivers as much value as possible for Thurso and Caithness.
The TTDG is already meeting monthly, with representation from:
- North Highland Chamber of Commerce
- Community Planning Partnership
- Focus North (also providing secretariat support)
- Highland Council (elected members and officers)
- Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE)
- Highlife Highland
- Hub North Scotland
- NHS Highland
- Nuclear Restoration Services Dounreay / Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
- UHI Environmental Research Institute
- UHI North, West and Hebrides
Membership is expected to grow as the project develops, potentially involving local businesses, community organisations, skills partners, the Scottish Government and charities.
What would you like to see in the Thurso PoD?
At this early stage, Highland Council has committed funding for a genuinely transformational project at the heart of Thurso.
What we know so far: the plans will include a new high school and primary schools, and there is real potential to create a connected education campus offering lifelong learning, skills development, and strong links with wider community services.
But much is still to be shaped – and that’s where the community comes in.
What facilities, services, or opportunities would you like this Community PoD to deliver?
Do you have concerns that need to be heard?
Or simply a question you’d like answered?
A pre-consultation exercise is now underway, and it’s vital that local people play an active role in shaping the future of the town.
Keep an eye on this page for updates, FAQs, videos and further blogs as the project progresses.