Future of Highland Council's Sutherland area headquarters at Drummuie in doubt after bid to include it on list of key buildings rejected
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The future of Highland Council’s flagship area headquarters in Sutherland looks more uncertain than ever after a bid to exclude it from a far-reaching ‘asset rationalisation’ programme failed.
Councillor Richard Gale, chairman of Sutherland County Committee, last week tried to persuade Highland Council to add Drummuie, which sits on a hill just outside Golspie, to a list of five core local authority administrative buildings set to be retained.
But the move was rejected by fellow councillors, meaning the imposing, B-listed building, which previously served as Sutherland Technical School and opened as Highland Council offices in 2008 following a costly refurbishment, remains at high risk of closure.
Cllr Gale said that if Drummuie were to close, it would put local jobs in jeopardy and lead to workers leaving the county, adding to the challenge of depopulation facing Sutherland.
Highland Council is undertaking a review of its entire property portfolio across the region as it struggles with high repair and maintenance costs and dwindling financial resources.
Council-owned buildings are set to be sold off to raise funds and cut costs with officers stating that “asset rationalisation at a pace is essential” and “doing nothing and/or continuing as is, is not an option.” The backlog of repairs is estimated at around £60 million.
A report entitled A Review of Property Assets Maintained by Highland Council and Future Approach to Strategic Capital Planning was presented to councillors at a full meeting of the Highland Council last Thursday, December 14.
The report proposed that Highland Council reduce its administrative bases to five key offices - Council headquarters at Glenurquhart Road, Inverness; Dingwall County Building; Caithness House; Charles Kennedy House at Fort William and Tigh-na-Sgire, Portree.
Cllr Gale put forward an amendment stating that Durummie should be included as “one of six key offices to ensure that the needs of the people of Sutherland are met going forward and to act as a halfway point between Caithness and Ross-Shire.
A vote was taken and the amendment was defeated by 36 votes to 28.
Cllr Gale said afterwards: “None of the five key offices are in Sutherland and as part of the asset rationalisation there is an underlying threat that Drummuie will be closed to save money.
“I pointed out that there are 85 miles between Wick and Dingwall and it makes perfect sense to have six administrative bases and to include Drummuie as a good central point between Wick and Dingwall.
“I also pointed out that there are a lot of jobs in Drummuie with roads, housing, social work, business and Criminal Justice all having offices there. In addition it is also a base for planning, building standards and others.”
Cllr Gale said that it was ironic that the previous item on last Thursday’s agenda was ‘Assessing Future Population Related Challenges in the Highland Council Area’.
He said: “This item was about depopulation and in particular the remote and rural parts of the Highlands. Sutherland is facing a 15 per cent reduction in population by 2040, if we don’t take action.
“There were a lot of fine words spoken in recognition of the challenges of depopulation in the Highlands and I spoke about the significant challenges in Sutherland, particularly in the north and west.
“ It is vital that we do everything we can to reverse the trend. That means we need employment, housing, transport, health care and child care.
“It was also pointed out that there have been a number of schools in Sutherland closed in recent years and others are at risk. When jobs are at risk, people and families move away to find work and this leads to further reductions in school places and the inevitable closures that follow.
“So, while it is easy to talk eloquently about the need to tackle depopulation, actions speak louder than words and in this case it is clear that this SNP-led administration has no qualms about putting jobs at risk in Sutherland.”
