A meeting tomorrow night (Thursday) will discuss plans to introduce late-night shopping in the town one night a week.

It is the first idea to emerge from a recent round of discussions which has been sparked off by a town-centre regeneration event held earlier this month by Caithness Chamber of Commerce.

Thurso Community Councillor Don Smith is co-ordinating the bid to breathe new life into the town centre.

He said yesterday: "Having spoken to the traders, it's clear that some are very much feeling the pinch.

"I think we could be losing a few shops over the next couple of months if things don't pick up.

"That is something we obviously want to avoid and we're trying to get people to think of ideas which can generate more life and business in the centre of town."

He said the plan to open up for a couple of hours on Thursday evenings has been backed by 38 traders, with 14 against.

"That was a pretty positive reply and it's planned to run it for a trial basis for a couple of months to see how it goes," he explained.

Mr Smith said that it is proposed to run events to coincide with the late opening to help attract people into the centre.

He said: "In the past, it's been a bit of a catch-22. Traders say what is the point of opening when there's no-one on the precinct and people say what is the point of going into the precinct when there's no shops open." As well as traders, representatives from the chamber, the Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership, the Highland Council, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Thurso Town Improvements Association have been invited to tomorrow's meeting.

Mr Smith is seeking to lever in funding from public agencies for the street events staged by local organisations.

He said: "The late opening is one idea. We're hoping it will kick-start other initiatives which the traders will support to bring new heart into the town centre. If everyone sits back and does nothing, things will only get worse."

Trudy Morris, chief executive of Caithness Chamber of Commerce, said yesterday: "It's very encouraging to see the support being shown for the late opening and hopefully it will lead to other ideas.

"We're trying to do similar in Wick."

Anyone with an interest in the Thurso initiative is invited to attend the meeting in Caithness Horizons at 7pm.

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