A landmark building in Caithness is to be saved with a substantial cash injection, Highland councillors have agreed.
Caithness Horizons museum and art gallery in Thurso was closed in February due to financial difficulties, including a reduction in grant from Highland Council.
The venue, in the former Town Hall, opened in 2008 and depicts the history of Caithness from 416 million years ago to the present.
It has important local artefacts and geological and botanical specimens, as well as a section of the history of nearby Dounreay.
On its closure, more than 80 academics and professionals wrote to the museum’s trustees warning of the consequences of the dispersal or removal of the collection to the understanding of the area’s history.
Councillors have agreed on a phased funding package of £204,000 over three years to be used to carry out health and safety related work.
The timescale for re-opening has yet to be confirmed, pending formalisation of funding and other arrangements with co-funder Dounreay Site Restoration Limited and High Life Highland as the proposed new operator.
Councillors took the decision in the face of much competition from other projects for council funds, but had their minds sharpened by learning that the National Lottery, which funded much of the original restoration, could claw back £1m if the facility is closed for any length of time.
Local councillor Struan Mackie said the permanent closure of the building would have been a hammer blow to Caithness, and that he was delighted with the decision.
He said: “This is a piece of genuinely good news for the far north and those who live, work and visit here.
“I encourage all stakeholders to now escalate preparations to see the doors open as quickly as they possibly can, and I will throw my weight behind this over the coming days.”
