Issues and SWOT

strength

Make reopened landmarks and parks useful for local people

The Castle Experience has officially opened, and refurbished Bught Park and Northern Meeting Park have reopened.

These are completed local assets. Their benefit to residents depends on access, programming and maintenance as well as visitor numbers.

Evidence 1 · Evidence 2

weakness

Plan care and suitable homes together in Lochaber

Blar Mhor’s masterplan is considering future care and housing requirements.

Suitable homes and staffing are part of making care available locally.

Evidence

weakness

Make room for homes people can afford

The average home price is £221,000 (July 2026) in Highland council area. This is about £25,000 higher than the Scotland average for the same month.

Housing costs matter most alongside earnings and the number of affordable homes available. A local average cannot tell us whether a particular household can afford its home.

opportunity

Keep the route from worker housing to permanent homes visible

Harbour Road’s initial worker accommodation and its intended permanent housing are different delivery stages.

Proposed response: publish the hand-back conditions and next planning steps so temporary capacity is not mistaken for permanent affordable homes.

Evidence

opportunity

Connect local skills to local opportunities

31.2% of people aged 16 or over had a degree or higher (20 March 2022) in Highland council area. People aged 16+ with a degree or higher ranged from 21.3% in Cromarty Firth to 41.3% in Black Isle — a gap of 20 percentage points.

Qualifications show one part of the skills available locally. They do not show whether people have secure jobs or work that uses those skills.

opportunity

Target safety work where problems repeat

Recorded-crime figures cover the whole Highland council area; they do not identify individual wards.

These are police-recorded crimes under Scottish counting rules. They cannot be ranked alongside the mapped incidents shown for other UK nations.

opportunity

Turn published plans into visible progress

5 named local projects or plans have official evidence in this collection.

A published plan makes responsibilities and intentions easier to inspect. It does not prove that funding is secured or that promised benefits have arrived.

threat

Protect the route from temporary accommodation to permanent use

Harbour Road’s initial worker-accommodation lease is described as five years.

Permanent development follows later and cannot be counted as homes already delivered.

Evidence