Highland Council In Talks To Reopen Caithness Horizons
28th February 2019
Photo Gallery
Talks have taken place on the possibility of reopening Thurso's Caithness Horizons which closed last week due to financial problems.
The operators of the museum and art gallery said increasing running costs and reduced income had made the running of the site "unsustainable".
A "positive meeting" has since taken place with Highland Council.
Opened in 2008, its collection includes Pictish stones and a control room from the Dounreay nuclear power complex.
Highland Council and Dounreay have offered grant funding since it opened but recently began to cut back on funding. Highland council has been forced to make several cuts in leisure grants to a range of organisations with Eden Court Theatre seeing the biggest grant cut.
In a statement, the operators said: "A positive meeting has been held with the Highland Council to discuss possible options for long-term financial stability to allow Caithness Horizons to reopen.
More meetings will be held incoming weeks to work on solutions.
The artefacts are in safe condition whilst the next steps are discussed with the Highland Council.
PHOTO
Pictish Stones At Caithness Horizons
Photographer - Bill Fernie
Related Businesses
Related Articles
High Life Highland's Countryside Ranger's gave members of the public an exciting opportunity to ‘dive in' to the world of marine wildlife at the North Coast Visitor Centre recently. The ‘Whale and Dolphin Watching’ presentation took place on Wednesday 15th November at 11am, and was well attended by the local Caithness community.
The North Coast Visitor Centre in Thurso has achieved a four star award by VisitScotland's quality assurance scheme in its first year of operation. Set in the former Thurso Town Hall and Carnegie Library, the visitor centre includes a museum featuring Caithness history, in addition to an art gallery, a shop and cafe.
The Spirit of the Highlands and Islands 360 degree immersive portal experience has been declared a ‘big hit' with visitors to the North Coast Visitor Centre this October school Holidays. The Spirit of the Highlands and Islands project is a partnership project between The Highland Council and High Life Highland, and is delivered in collaboration with VisitScotland.
The re-launch of the former Caithness Horizons centre in Thurso is set to take place on Tuesday, 2 November 2021, with the facility being rebranded as the North Coast Visitor Centre. Its relaunch will bring back into use a valuable community asset and support the wider community and economic benefit for Thurso and the wider Caithness Area.
Uncertainty over funding from Highland council. Caithness Horizons, which tells the story of the county of Caithness from 416 million years ago to the present day, has deleted its manager post and cut its curator's hours from 40 to 20 hours a week in anticipation of funding cuts.
Week Commencing 1st January 2018. Energy & business services: 2018 promises to be another year of exciting change in the energy sector, and to highlight how things have progressed in the north the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm team have produced a short booklet outlining the significant milestones that have been achieved during 2017 - you can access the booklet at https://www.beatricewind.com/single-post/2017/12/22/lookingbackat2017 .
Thursday 10 September, 12.45 -16.30 Caithness Horizons, Thurso (Please note that lunch is not provided, however you are welcome to have lunch at The Caithness Horizons Cafe prior to the event) Running a craft practice is addictive - there is always more to try, new ideas to explore and projects to develop. Growing your business allows you to confidently pursue these exciting new opportunities to strengthen your profile, expand your range of customers and generate healthy profits.
Tuesday 11th August saw local group No Limits Caithness visit the Museum for a morning packed with Viking activities with Curator Joanne Howdle, or Thordis Eiríksdóttir as she is fondly known to local groups and schools. The group helped the Museum to hit the half million visitors mark and to celebrate they were presented with a special cake made in the Museum's cafe.
Scientists from around the world recently gathered in Thurso for an annual biological sciences meeting. The Larwood Symposium was hosted by the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) of the North Highland College UHI on behalf of the International Bryozoology Association.
Caithness Horizons Museum in Thurso has recently been reviewed by Visit Scotland grading authority and are delighted to keep its Five Star Visitor Attraction status for a seventh year running. The news comes shortly after receiving a Certificate Of Excellence from Trip Advisor earlier in the month.
