The Highland Council is now accepting expressions of interest for the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund for 2026-27. The Fund supports locally developed place-based regeneration projects that involve local communities, helping to tackle inequalities and deliver inclusive growth in deprived, and fragile communities across Scotland.
The Highland Council has launched phase 2 of a public consultation on how Community Councils across the Highlands are created and governed. The Community Council Scheme Review was on the agenda of the Highland Council meeting held on the 15 May 2025, Members agreed to the phase 2 review of the Scheme and that the proposals informed by the phase 1 review be subject to further public consultation.
At the meeting Economy and Infrastructure Committee next week (Thursday 28 May) members will decide how over £3 million of funding from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will be used over the next 12 months to deliver a positive impact across communities. The proposed 2025/26 Highland UKSPF Delivery Plan is made up of a range of projects geared to delivering positive impacts.
Environmental schemes on the agenda of Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee Members of Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee will have the opportunity to discuss compensatory planting schemes and biodiversity enhancement when they meet on Thursday 29 May. Economy and Infrastructure Committee Chair, Cllr Ken Gowans said: "Environmental schemes are important for our communities as they ensure that biodiversity is improved when new infrastructure projects are developed.
Highland Council has updated members of the Communities and Place Committee on its Fleet Action Plan supplied to the Office of the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland. The action plan was developed following an independent audit of the Council's fleet operations and addresses a number of improvements being made in relation to compliance and control processes and monitoring of heavy goods vehicles.
Members of Highland Council's Communities and Place Committee have today welcomed progress against the Council’s Equality Mainstreaming and Outcomes Report. They also agreed a revised set of equality outcomes for 2025- 2029.
Highland Council's Climate Change Committee has today reaffirmed its commitment to climate adaptation by supporting the continued work of Highland Adapts - a regional initiative focused on building climate resilience through partnership and community-led action. Chair of the Climate Change Committee, Councillor Sarah Fanet, said: "The Highland region is already experiencing the effects of climate change from increased flooding to changes in biodiversity and these impacts are only expected to intensify.
Mounting pressures from inflation, increasing costs and demand are exceeding the Scottish Government's additional investment in Scotland's councils. In 2025/26 councils received over £15 billion in government funding, with more money set to be raised from council tax and charges for some services.
The work underway to ensure that Highland communities can benefit from profits being generated by renewable developments will be under the spotlight at next week's meeting of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee. At the meeting on Thursday 29 May, Members will receive an update on progress with the Highland Social Value Charter, which aims to ensure that if developments get the go ahead there is a clear community benefit.
At the meeting of the Highland Council's Climate Change Committee, Members were given an update on the Council's Net Zero Programme. Members welcomed the development of projects that will deliver carbon reductions, operational efficiencies and financial savings.
The Highland Council is pleased to announce new waste and recycling figures for the region, following the introduction of the new waste and recycling services over the last year. The roll out of the new waste and recycling services to householders and businesses began in April 2024 and has been funded by the Scottish Government's Recycling Improvement Fund.
The Highland Council is pleased to announce its participation in the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF), taking place this week in Leeds. The event is recognised as the UK's leading platform for fostering partnerships and securing investment in regeneration, infrastructure, and economic development.
Highland Council's Environmental Health team have identified raised levels of naturally occurring bivalve shellfish biotoxins following routine monitoring at Loch Portree. Eating bivalve shellfish such as cockles, mussels, oysters or razor fish from the area of Loch Portree may pose a health risk arising from the consumption of these biotoxins.
Highland Councillors have considered £756m investment across Highland communities over the next 5 years when they discussed an updated report on the consolidated Highland Investment Plan (HIP) at a meeting of The Highland Council on Thursday 15 May 2025. Convener of the Council, Cllr Bill Lobban said: "The consolidated programme which was presented to Members is part of a longer-term strategy for the Highland Investment Plan which creates a potential £2.1bn of capital investment over a twenty-year period.
After a successful three-week trial of thermal technology in 2024, Highland Council has appointed Thermal Road Repairs for a two-year patching repair contract worth a seven-figure sum. This will provide an additional resource for repairing surface defects such as potholes, cracking and deteriorating surfacing joints.
The scale of transformational opportunity facing the Highlands and Islands economy has been quantified for the first time in a new report. The study reports 251 planned development projects in the economic pipeline of what it refers to as regional transformational opportunities (RTOs).
Maggie Cunningham and Dr. Jim McCormick have been appointed as co-chairs of a new multi-partnership Poverty and Equality Commission Board.
The Highland Council has published its Renewable Energy Mapping Tool. This tool will enable those with an interest in understanding the location and type of renewable energy projects within Highland to discover not only what already exists on the ground but also the stage that any projects may be at within the planning process.
The Highlands and Islands Regional Economic Partnership (HIREP)'s Regional Economic Strategy addresses the challenges affecting the region's businesses and communities. A partnership of public, private and academic organisations in the Highlands and Islands has unveiled its ten-year strategy to deliver sustainable economic growth across the region.
BT has launched a consultation on the removal of 110 public payphones in Highland which they state are no longer needed. Details of the payphones being considered for closure are set out in the list at this link.