The PODS will address the Highland Housing Challenge with its ‘Housing Action Plan’ which identifies the need for 24,000 new homes within the next 10 years, modernising the council’s extensive school estate and over time lowering the number of council property assets/buildings by co-locating and hybrid working models, which in turn will reduce the associated maintenance costs, energy use and carbon emissions; to deliver efficient revenue savings and sustain and improve service delivery.

Housing and Property Committee chair, Councillor Glynis Campbell Sinclair, said: “The Highland Investment Plan is an ambitious 20-year plan that seeks to deliver improvements of the council’s large estate, encourages partnership working and investment opportunity to ensure an integrated place-based approach is provided.

“The Highland Council and our public sector partners are assessing and mapping all our assets to determine which we should sell or repurpose, which ones we need to commit to keeping/retrofitting or replacing to futureproof the complex asset portfolio across Highland.

“Included in our asset portfolio is our extensive school estate that needs modernised, no mean feat as we have one of the largest school estates in Scotland, with around 196 schools in both urban and rural communities spread across an area which covers a third of Scotland.

“By co-locating with partner services, working with inward investors and growing opportunity within the construction industry and associated supply chain, we can drive innovative community operating models, improve transport links and better meet the needs of a progressive society, help tackle our declining population and encourage economic growth across the Highlands.

“To accelerate our delivery, an additional investment of around £2.8 billion is required. While this is a large figure, there are opportunities for co-investment available between the public and private sector. For example, the Non Domestic Rates concessions within the Green Freeport and our Social Value Charter from Renewables.”

To reflect the dynamic changes to the Asset Mapping reconfiguration, a £2 million Highland Investment plan over the next twenty years has been committed to address our challenges and regular reporting will be brought to Redesign Boards and Full Council for consideration.