The Third Pillar Cracks: How Cuts to HIE, Scottish Economic Development, and Council Budgets Threaten Caithness and What It Means for the £100 Million Thurso Schools Project

The Third Pillar Cracks: How Cuts to HIE, Scottish Economic Development, and Council Budgets Threaten Caithness and What It Means for the £100 Million Thurso Schools Project

Caithness has always lived at the intersection of three funding pillars: Highlands and Islands Enterprise, national economic development programmes, and Highland Council’s capital and revenue budgets.  When all three are healthy, the region can absorb shocks, plan for the future, and deliver the kind of long‑term investment that keeps communities stable.