'Fresh start' as funding package is agreed for Caithness Horizons
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A LIFELINE funding package of over £400,000 to help Caithness Horizons reopen has been agreed by Highland Council.
Councillors made the decision this week after being warned the National Lottery could seek reimbursement for a grant of almost £1 million if the facility remained closed.
The museum and gallery in Thurso town centre closed in February after managers indicated they could not sustain operations financially and decided to hand the keys back to the council.
With a potential bill from the lottery of £990,000, the local authority decided to offer funding over the next three years of £75,000 a year alongside a further capital investment of up to £204,000 for urgent building works.
The next stage is to make arrangements with Dounreay Site Restoration Limited, the co-funder of the property, as well as High Life Highland, which has been tapped to take over its running.
Local councillors said they were delighted with the decision. The chairman of the Caithness Committee, Councillor Matthew Reiss, said: "This is excellent news for Caithness and in particular for the town centre in Thurso."
Councillor Struan Mackie said: "I am delighted that the council’s care, learning and housing committee has passed recommendations to push forward plans to reopen the facility.
"The £200,000 of capital, spread over two years, will be used to bring the building up to standard and to allow High Life Highland to assume day-to-day running. Between Dounreay’s already committed funding and Highland Council agreeing this recommendation, there is now a clear way forward for the museum."
Looking to the future, he said: "All efforts must now be focused at bringing Dounreay, the council, High Life Highland and stakeholders together to escalate efforts to reopen the doors as quickly as possible."
Councillor Raymond Bremner, Wick and East Caithness, described Horizons as "not only a Caithness asset but a Highland asset".
He said: "I know that three years isn’t an awful long time in the grand scheme of things but it will provide a period of time where the council can work with High Life Highland and Dounreay Site Restoration Limited to deliver an achievable and sustainable plan for the long-term future of Caithness Horizons.
"We know there are repairs required but that won’t all require to be spent at the start and can be phased. There are lessons to be learned but we can have confidence in the fact that High Life Highland has a proven track record in the successful operation of leisure and recreation services."
Councillor Bremner added: "I am absolutely certain that the whole Caithness community will be delighted to see this facility open to the public again."
Despite High Life Highland being named as the proposed the new operator, there is no timescale for the facility to be reopened.
The care, learning and housing committee chairman, Councillor John Finlayson, said: "I am pleased that this significant investment has been agreed. This heralds a fresh start for Caithness Horizons."
