Bringing some of Tain’s old buildings back into use is set to be a top priority under a new council masterplan.
Highland Council revealed the latest draft for their developing Tain Town Centre Action Plan at a public drop-in in the Easter Ross town yesterday.
Among the proposals are suggestions to bring historic features such as the town’s former picture house back into some form of public use.
It is suggested that the cinema, which was closed in 1968 and is now owned by Tain Heritage Trust, would be suitable for a new arts centre.
The empty Duthac House has also been suggested as another building which could find a new use – with a youth hostel and a potential new home for the town’s sheriff court possible options.
Relocating the court from the town centre was one of the suggestions raised by members of the public during an initial stage of consultation last year.
Other suggestions include the creation of a new regular outdoor market and restoring traditionally styled shop fronts in a bid to attract more shoppers and visitors to the town.
A new shared surface area could be built around the court and Royal Hotel to make the town centre more friendly to pedestrians.
The Tain study is part of a series of action plans for town centres, including Fort William and Nairn.
Scott Dalgarno, Highland Council’s development plans manager, said that plans would only be progressed with support from the community.
He said: “We are committed to delivering town centre regeneration and the major part of that is to increase footfall to help businesses and tourism.
“We have gathered a lot of ideas and we’ve taken on board the suggestions and are now sharing the proposals which were raised.
“Now we are really putting the onus on the community to tell us which plans can be delivered.”
A drop-in for the Nairn action plan will be held today at the Court House between 2pm and 5pm.
Fort William’s masterplan will be discussed in public next month.
